


Wolfkin's Recyle Pile of Assorted Stuff

by corinwolfkin



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Transformers: Beast Wars
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi, Plotbunnies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-25 16:22:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15644472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corinwolfkin/pseuds/corinwolfkin
Summary: Everyone eventually publishes their drabble and discard pile. This is mine. Expect lots of Buffy(no comic crosses), some Harry Potter and maybe a few others.





	1. Chapter 1

Most writers, it seems, eventually start a drabble/plot bunny file where they can post story ideas that hit them but can't do anything with or stories that they started and, for whatever reason, they never went anywhere or couldn't finish. Usually, these are up for adoption. I'm pretty sure that most of them, like me, feel if their muse won't let them write it up/expand it to a full story, then maybe someone else will and hey, we get something else to read, write? That's always good.

Anyway, I thought I'd start my drabble and bunny ranch and get some of the fragments on my drives out there and see if anyone else wants to run away with them. There's a small, yet non-zero chance I'll continue any of the story drabbles posted here, but, just the same, everything in this file is up for adoption. I just ask that put where you got it in the description somewhere. A note to me where the continuation is would be nice as well, but up to the new writer.

I hope you like these.

Wolfkin


	2. Chapter 01 - Memory Lane (BtVS)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One should always be careful what they wish for. More importantly, they should **_ALWAYS_** be careful how they _phrase_ said wishes . . . Amy Madison might have been a tad sloppy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: PG-13 to light R
> 
> Disclaimer: All of the materials borrowed from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel belong to Joss Whedon and to the entities and companies associated with their creation. I have borrowed them for creative and entertainment purposes only. No compensation has been or ever shall be received for the writing below. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> Spoilers: Show's been off the air since May of 2003. Can they still be considered spoilers?
> 
> Author's Notes: I have kept to the BtVS/Angel canon to the end of Chosen and parts of Angel's 5th season. With the parts of Angel, Spike is back and stayed in LA. Knox was stopped before he could kill Fred and she and Wesley are engaged. After that, it's my little world! 
> 
> Acknowledgments: Just wanted to mention where I got the basic idea for this one. It was after I read Vogonguard's story "Just One Night" and the regrettably unfinished "From Dust Returned" by Renegade, both of used to be found on the Mystic Muse site. They're both really good, so you should read'em if you can find them. Also, lots of inspiration came from Greywizard's "The Mirror Never Lies", which can be found on Twisting The Hellmouth. 
> 
> Pairing: TBA
> 
> Feedback: Yes, please. Any type you wanna send. Can't fix what I don't know is broken, right? Hopefully, enough feedback will convince my muse to move back home, not just stop by for sporadic visits. ;)
> 
> Oh, if text looks like this: [Words] they're thoughts.

* * *

Prologue

Smoke curled lazily up from the pewter bowl on the makeshift altar, only to be partially dissipated by a slim, feminine hand adding bits of herbs to the small pile already smoldering in the metal container. Soft chanting could be heard as other things were prepared and added to the bowl, increasing the smoke momentarily, or changing its color. The room around the "alter" was illuminated only by the light of a dozen carefully placed candles in a way that might have been called romantic, were it not for the feeling of power being raised and the scent of burning plant matter.

The chants built in volume and power, the language they were spoken in long dead, until a bright flash appeared, causing the woman performing the ceremony to hastily close her eyes and look away.

"Who dares to summon Sirithis in this manner?" A deep, yet still feminine voice intoned angrily. "The last mortal that so dared I didn't allow to die for a week for their effrontery. Speak and know a quick answer with grant you a swift death." The speaker was female and appeared human until you saw her face. What appeared to be reddish scarring covered the "woman's" face and throat, while her eyes burned an inhuman blood red. A silver pendant set with a gem the size of a large man's thumbnail hung around her neck, perched just above her cleavage. It pulsed red with a malevolent power.

The woman on the other side of the altar straighten and opened her eyes, leveling her eyes on the demon woman so casually threatening her. She knew that Sirithis was more than capable of carrying out her promise of a pain filled death, but she also know that the demon wouldn't kill her until she knew the reason she'd been summoned.

The young woman was average height with grey eyes and light brownish-blonde hair. What some might call dishwater blonde and would easily be considered pretty, maybe even beautiful if she took care with her appearance. None of that mattered to her right now. All that did was striking a bargain with the demon she'd spent several hours summoning.

She smirked, a little sarcastically. "So, a roundabout answer will get me weeks of torment?" She laughed inwardly at the demon's expression, though outwardly, she carefully schooled her own to a respectful sorrow, giving the scowling demon a little half bow of her head. "Forgive me, great Sirithis. Sometimes my sense of humor escapes before I can contain it."

"You should repair that tendency, human, before it gets you killed. Slowly. Now, answer my question; Why have you summoned me?"

"My name is . . ."

"I know who you are Catherine Amanda Madison. I also know you prefer Amy, for some reason. And, before you try to 'enlighten' me, I know that you are a relatively minor sorceress and that the only things you can claim of any significance are turning yourself into a rat for three years and starting Willow Rosenberg down the path of true darkness." She sighed in frustration, a growling sound that echoed slightly in the small room. "What do you want?"

Amy's cheeks flamed angrily at the description of her as a "minor sorceress", but the growl Sirithis gave at the end of her dissertation caused her to swallow the implied insult. "The reason I summoned you is because I want Willow to suffer. It's just not fair the way everyone just forgives her and loves her. She tried to end the world, for God's sake, and all I've ever done is a few little questionable castings, just having a little fun and no one will even talk to me! I mean, I've been a witch way longer than her, so I should be so much more powerful than her and it's just not fair! I was casting spells before she even picked up her first spellbook!" She stopped and regained her composure. "So, that's why you're here. I want to get even with Willow."

Sirithis just stared at the impudent mortal in astonishment. This was it? _This_ was why this idiot had brought her here? To exact some kind of questionable vengeance on Willow Rosenberg, the only witch to _ever_ turn D'Hoffryn down, simply because she was a more powerful witch and a better person? And did the term witch even apply to her any more anyway?

The demon shook her head. None of that mattered anyway, simply because she wasn't powerful enough to do anything to Willow that the woman couldn't repair quickly. It would take D'Hoffryn himself to make any lasting changes and it was entirely possible even _he_ wasn't powerful enough! Raising the Slayer army had allowed Willow to tap into a power source that damned few could ever touch, let alone control, so, appropriately, there were damned few beings that could challenge her. The last person Sirithis knew of personally that approached her power level was Merlin and he was never defeated by anyone.

Returning her attention to the mortal in front of her, Sirithis noticed with some amusement that she seemed to be getting annoyed be her silence. "What, _specifically_ , are you asking me to do? Or really, what exactly is your wish? And before you say it, know that my options are limited. Willow Rosenberg is one of the most powerful beings on this plane right now and very few demons can challenge her and live."

Amy started to reply hotly, then paused and actually thought about what was said. With an internal growl, she had to admit the demon was right about Willow being insanely powerful now. If this wasn't done correctly, she knew her rival could easily find out who had cursed her and, while she wasn't really worried about Willow killing her, she wasn't so sure about that Slayer bitch she was living with. Besides, the last thing Amy wanted was to spend a few more years as a rat. Suddenly, she smiled and refocused on Sirithis.

"What I wish is this; Since Willow's power is so great, I wish for a Willow that is reduced in power enough so that I'm at least three times more powerful as she is."

Sirithis was sure her eyes left their sockets. It felt like they had. She really expected them to be rolling on the floor right now, bumping into her feet, getting dirty, looking up at the stupid look she was sure was on her face.

Was this mortal insane? Hadn't she just finished telling her that she wasn't anywhere _near_ powerful enough to really do anything to the redheaded pseudo-goddess? On the other hand, the rules were clear. A wish had been spoken, so she was bound to grant it. The vengeance demon wracked her mind for a way to do so that wouldn't end with Rosenberg's pet Slayer killing her, assuming Rosenberg didn't do it herself.

She thought furiously, going over everything Madison had said, looking for a loophole she could exploit, thereby granting the wish while keeping her life. Inspiration struck and she smiled.

Amy paled a little at the demon's smile and opened her mouth to protest, to ask what she was going to do, to say never mind . . .

"Wish granted."

The world went white.

* * *

Chapter 1

[Nothing interesting ever happens on this shift.] James Cambell thought as the cargo door on the 727 rolled open. Ducking inside, he gave a cursory glance around, experience allowing him to gauge what needed to be unloaded first and in what order. He was startled out of his examination by a noise toward the front of the cargo area and instantly, the young man brought his flashlight up, trying to locate the source of the sound. 

"What the hell . . .?" Light still playing across cargo containers and piled luggage, James started to feel a little creeped out. Images from all the horror movies he'd ever seen flashed through his mind, exacerbating his feelings of unease. "You're not supposed to be in here!" He flashed the light around a little more, then saw a shadow move. "Come on out." He looked that way a little more intently, then grunted as his head exploded in pain. Before he had time to regain his bearings and defend himself, a sharp blow crashed into his stomach, then another hammered his skull and he knew nothing more.

* * *

The dream was always the same. The intimidating landscape filled with oversized objects. The floor right in front of her. The primal fear of, well, basically everything. The real fear of this was all her life would ever be, that the memories of her old life being returned to her were all lies. The obnoxious buzzing . . . The what?

Amy clawed her way toward consciousness, the tatters of her dream/nightmare slipping away once more as the realization of an alarm clock going off near her finally fought its way through. Throwing out a hand, she fumbled blindly for a moment until she located the clock, then groped again as the unfamiliar controls temporarily baffled her. Finally, the annoying noise went away and the strawberry blonde woman breathed a sigh of relief, snuggling back into her pillow, Morpheus already tugging her away once more.

*Bam* *Bam* *Bam* "Are you awake yet, honey? Better hurry or you'll be late!"

Instantly, Amy's eyes popped open and the half formed growl transformed into a whimper. It couldn't be! It simply couldn't be! Trying desperately to suppress her panic, the young woman sat up in bed and looked around the room she was in. Far from helping her to calm down, she immediately recognized her old bedroom in her house in Sunnydale. [This can't . . . There's no way . . . Where . . .?] her mind gibbered, her eyes swiveling and locking on the door as another, lighter knock sounded and it opened partially.

"Amy? Sweetheart?" Thomas Madison's honest face looked around the door at his only child. He felt a stab of worry at the lost expression on her pretty features, but quickly assumed he'd woken her from a nightmare. Smiling, he repeated. "Hey, kiddo, you better get a move on, hadn't you? I know I said I'd drop you off this morning, but we're gonna need to leave soon, okay?"

Amy nodded absently, unable to verbalize yet. She unconsciously returned her dad's smile as he withdrew from the room, softly closing the door behind him. Looking slowly around, Amy realized she was really in her old bedroom and that had really been her father. A father she hadn't seen since before she had turned herself into a rat so many years earlier. She'd tried, oh so many times, to contact him, to tell him she was back, that she was okay, even just that she was alive, but she was never able to go through with it. How did she explain where she'd been? Why she hadn't contacted him before?

So she'd convinced herself that she was grown and that, since he'd apparently done so well without her around, she wouldn't bug him, like some baby who'd skinned her knee or something. Now, to see him, his expression of casual affection, tempered slightly with worry, it slammed home just how much she'd missed her daddy.

Amy smiled at that thought. Here she was, almost twenty three years old and she still thought of him as daddy. She wondered if she always . . . Her thoughts slithered to a halt as she _really_ looked at her surroundings. Jumping out of bed, she moved swiftly around the room, touching items, examining books. This was impossible! This looked like her room, but from when she was a junior in high school! Even the textbooks were the ones she remembered from then!

Feeling her stomach sinking, the terrified witch looked around, then cast a simple spell, trying to levitate her clothes to her. Sluggishly, they rose and drifted toward her, dipping toward the floor several times in the few feet until they were close enough to grab. Wearily, she sat on the bed as her legs gave out. [It shouldn't be that hard to cast that!] Her thoughts were jumbled, scared. [It hasn't been that hard for me to levitate stuff since . . . high school.] Amy felt the blood drain from her face. 

Shaking her head, she stood and moved to the closet, opening the door and looking at herself in the full length mirror there. Staring in shock, she saw, not the familiar young, but clearly adult form she was used to, but a girl who was in her mid to late teens. Her hair was a little longer now and, bed hair aside, styled differently. Somehow, she was in the past! Her hand rose toward her mouth and she froze, staring at the appendage. The scar was gone. That unnerved her more than anything, because she remembered discovering that scar after Willow broke the spell and she was returned to human form. She'd cut her front paw on a sharp spike in her old cage and she'd been dismayed to find out it was still on her hand, but quickly came to accept it, even cherish it in a strange way. Now, it was like it had never happened.

Suddenly, she let out a little giggle and a tentative smile broke out. If she was in the past, then it _had_ never happened! She was never a rat, because that hadn't happened yet, and now, never would. With a slightly giddy smile, Amy flopped back on her bed, staring sightlessly at the ceiling as she thought about just how many crappy things in her life she could now avoid, all because she was given a chance to relive her life. She could even study the magics harder. Become twice the witch Willow was and finally be stronger than the redhead, maybe even . . .

That's when it hit her, what had happened, how she'd gotten where she was. Sirithis! Sitting bolt upright, her mind began to work furiously as pieces began to fall into place. The vengeance demon and the wish she'd made was the only explanation that made sense for her to suddenly wake up six years or more in the past. She could feel herself getting angry, because _this_ was most assuredly _**not**_ what she'd asked for! Sitting up, she glanced to where she used to hide her magic supplies (and right now, still did), mentally going over what she'd need to summon the demon again so she could fix this. She stood to see what was on hand again when a knock interrupted her.

"Amy? You about ready, honey?"

The fledgling witch stopped in her tracks, looking at the door, her mind suddenly stuck in neutral as what she had been doing collided with the instinctive desire to listen to her father. "Um . . . Almost, Dad. Ten more minutes?"

Mr Madison's voice drifted through the closed door. "Well, that'll be cutting things close, but okay. Hurry it along if you can, okay, sweetheart?"

Even though no one could see it, Amy nodded as she replied, "Okay, Dad. I'll be as fast as I can." She listened to his footsteps leading away again and glanced once more at where she stored her magic supplies. [It'll wait until tonight. One day back in high school won't kill me. I'll do the school thing, then come home and summon Sirithis and try to convince her to fix this.] Plan firmly in mind, Amy gathered the clothes she wanted to wear that day and headed for the bathroom.

* * *

Amy looked across her father as he stopped his suv in front of Sunnydale High School, popping her seat belt loose as soon as the vehicle stopped moving. "Thanks for the ride, Dad." She smiled at the man, an expression he returned warmly.

"You're welcome, honey. I was happy to do it." He turned a little and looked at the banner stretched over the school's front doors. "Have you decided what you're interested in?"

Amy followed his eyes and felt her own widen a little. Interesting. Sirithis sent her back to the first day of the Career Fair the school sponsored. Thinking back, she tried to remember what she'd had to attend, then shuddered as it came back to her. [Oh yeah. Landscaping and Child Care. Yuck!] "They assign us to different things, but I'm gonna try for something like cooking or maybe even vet or something."

Thomas smiled, pleased at his daughter's ambition. After the way Catherine had always been so down on the girl, he was afraid his missing wife had broken her spirit, but it looked like that wasn't true. He thanked God and asked Him to please make sure Catherine stayed wherever the hell she was and to never come back to Sunnydale. "Sounds great, Amy. You promise you'll give me all the details tonight, right?"

Amy smiled. "I promise." She leaned across and hugged her father tightly, missing the surprised expression on the man's face, but smiling bigger when she felt him returning the affection. "I love you, Daddy."

His eyes widened a little. She hadn't called him 'Daddy' in years. Part of him wanted to ask what was up, but at the last second, he decided to let her tell him if anything was wrong. Instead, he just returned her embrace and whispered, "I love you too, sweetheart." He let her draw away and smiled, nodding toward the school. "You better hurry or we'll both be late." 

Amy smiled and opened her door. "Okay." She got out of the vehicle and closed the door, then turned back with a "Daddy?"

"Yeah, baby?"

Amy hesitated, then blushed a little. "Nothing. I'll see you tonight." She stepped away from the truck and waved a little. "Bye!"

Thomas gave his daughter a funny look, then smiled and put the truck in gear. "See you later." He pulled away, confident that Amy would eventually tell him what was wrong or whatever it was she'd obviously wanted to say. The fact that she'd called him 'Daddy' twice in just a few minutes after not using that word for a few years was odd, but it didn't strike any kind of ominous chords in him. Maybe this Career Fair thing was making her thing about life after high school and she suddenly wanted to feel like a little girl again for a moment. He smiled to himself as he pulled into his company's parking lot. That must be it. His mind at ease once more, Thomas Madison locked his vehicle and went in to work.

* * *

Amy had forgotten how much she enjoyed cooking. The strawberry blonde girl was happily fixing the rather simple meal the restaurant people who were there for Career Week had asked for and looking forward to hearing what they had to say about it. Their group had taken over the Home Ec classroom for the day and she and about fifteen other people, including, she saw with some amusement, Harmony Kendall, were all busily fixing some kind of food.

Of course, Harmony being in here was funny to her for the simple reason of she knew Harmony was turned at graduation, so what would a future vampire need with cooking skills? She suddenly frowned as she thought about what would happen if she couldn't convince Sirithis to take back her wish. She would be stuck here, reliving the last year and a half of high school. Then again, last time, she'd been a rat for the biggest part of senior year, so at least this time, she'd get to go to her prom and actually graduate. Well, if she managed to let Buffy know about the mayor without making the Slayer suspicious about how she knew so much about the dark sorcerer than ran their town.

Assuming she did manage to do that, how much should she change? Becoming friends with Willow, really good friends so she could direct the redhead's magical training was a priority, but how many other things should she change? Like Harmony, for instance. True, she hated the blonde, just like every other girl in the school who wasn't a 'Cordette' as she'd heard Xander call them, but could she really condemn someone to being a vampire just because she didn't like them? She wasn't sure.

Mindlessly arranging her food on a plate for the 'judges', she thought back and tried to remember everyone who died that she might be able to prevent. Maybe, anyway. This _was_ Sunnydale, so some deaths were gonna happen simply as a natural occurrence of living on a Hellmouth. The big ones, though . . . She remembered during her and Willow's long talks about what she missed and what she remembered from before being a rat Willow had given her a long list of their classmates that had died when the mayor had Ascended. Those deaths, Harmony, Larry, even Snyder didn't have to happen. How could she do nothing and allow it?

"And here have Ms . . . Madison." A voice in front of her broke Amy from her deep thoughts with a start and she looked at the man in front of her. Blushing a little, she offered him a selection of utensils and tried not to fidget.

Terry O'Neal, owner of Sunnydale's premiere restaurant (at least, in his eyes), looked at the girl fidgeting in front of him and mentally cocked an eyebrow. For some reason, she seemed to be nervous, yet also like she was simply going through the motions of today. With a miniscule shrug, he dismissed it from his mind as he took the fork Amy offered him. Inwardly, he sighed. Amy's plate was the fifth he'd tried so far and, so far, none of the children that prepared the food would ever starve, but he wouldn't have hired any of them to peel potatoes.

With an almost silent sigh of resignation, O'Neal tasted the first part of what was on the plate. His eyebrows shot up as soon as it hit his taste buds. He quickly chewed and swallowed, tasting each of the other dishes in turn before taking a sip of water. This was a pleasant surprise. True, the strawberry blonde in front of him was no real competition for his head chef, Helmut, but if she was able to cook like this untrained . . . He smiled at Amy, handing her the plate and fork back. "Quite tasty, Ms Madison. If you would be so kind, would you remain for a few moments after the others leave? I would consider it a favor." When Amy smiled back nervously and nodded, he gave her a little bow and another small smile, then moved to the next person.

Amy watched him, stunned into immobility for several minutes. She finally snapped out of it when she saw him glance at what Calvin Duffy had fixed and shudder. Ruthlessly, she stomped on her urge to giggle and turned back to start cleaning up her work area. While she worked, she wondered what he wanted to talk to her about. She was fairly certain Mr O'Neal had liked her food, after all, he hadn't asked anyone else to stay yet, but surely he wasn't going to offer her a job or something. Amy glanced back at the man now standing before Harmony and wondered, [Is he?]

Forty minutes later, Amy walked out of the Home Ec room, somewhat in a daze, still thinking about what O'Neal had spoken to her about. [He wants to sponsor and help pay for me to go to school! I . . . I can't believe it!] She shook her head a little, absently seeing if that reset the world to the one she knew best. Where she was just Amy Madison, former black magic junkie, former rat and just someone who life had crapped on. Could things have been this way the first time, if she'd had the courage to go to the restaurateurs demos all those years ago?

Suddenly, she giggled as she thought about Harmony's face when O'Neal had answered her request to teach her to cook by saying all she'd ever need to know was taught in the frozen foods section of her local market. The airheaded blonde had gotten indignant, threatening to get her parents to stop coming to his restaurant. She'd been stunned and embarrassed when O'Neal had laughed and replied that that was perfectly fine with him. The Kendalls treated his staff like slaves when they came in, constantly complained about the quality of the food and were lousy tippers. Therefore, he informed her with a withering smile, it would be no real loss if they were to never come near his restaurant again.

Harmony had stared at him, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish for nearly a full minute before she squealed in anger and stormed from the room. O'Neal had treated the encounter like it hadn't happened, finishing what he'd been saying, then dismissing the class. Once everyone else was gone, he'd smiled and explained what he wanted, that he thought she should follow this as a career and that he'd help all he could. In return for which, she would come to work for him for at least a year. Walking away from the the classroom, she stopped and looked back, then smiled broadly and giggled happily. 

Facing forward again, she headed for the lounge area, stopping when she saw two older men she didn't know approach Willow, then escort her towards a curtained off area. Her smile died as her original desires flashed through her mind. Though she tried, Amy couldn't remember what happened with Willow during Career Fair the first time, so she was worried that maybe something would interfere with her plans. She started easing that way, the armed guard at the door making her cautious. Finally, she was in a position to hear what was happening without looking too much like that was what she was doing.

". . . held up over SeaTac, but he should be here any minute."

"But, I didn't even get my test back." Amy almost smiled at that. As long as she'd known Willow, the redhead had always loved school and worried herself silly over it.

"The test was irrelevant. We've been watching you for some time now." [They've been watching Willow? And who are 'they'?]

"And that's a good thing?"

"I would say so, yes. We're extremely selective. In fact, only one other student from Sunnydale met our criteria. Please, make yourself comfortable." [Who the hell are these guys?] 

Amy looked the curtain over, trying to find a place where she could look through, almost jumping when the two men came back out. Quickly, she opened her bag and acted like she was digging for change for the soda machine. As they stepped away, she heard a soft, almost familiar voice ask, "Canape?" Once again, she tried to find a way to looked into the closed off area, but this time, there was a subtle throat clearing. She looked guiltily at the guard. Quickly, she smiled apologetically and retreated to a nearby chair to wait until Willow and whoever it was came out.

While she waited, she went over her options and tried to finalize her plans. She decided her best bet would be to somehow convince Willow she wanted to help with the gang's fight against the Hellmouth and everything. Willow would, in turn, convince Buffy that she was serious and that would give her an in. Oh! Thinking back now, Amy remembered that, at that time, the Scoobies whole magic support was Giles and she was better than him now, so maybe that was the way to go. Plus, if she admitted it, maybe she could avoid that whole 'love spell' fiasco with Xander in a few months. 

There was also Ms Calendar to consider. Amy knew the computer teacher had a _lot_ more power than she let on and concealing herself from the older woman had been hard. If she was one of the 'Scoobies', she wouldn't have to hide it. Well, she would need to be careful and not let Ms Calendar know just how much she knew and the how and why of it, but it would be okay to let her know that she was a witch.

Amy looked up as the two men from before came back with a third, better dressed man, all three of them going through the curtain. She started to get up and try to eavesdrop again, but the guard was now even more attentive, so she knew he wouldn't let her near enough to do any good. [Gods, I wanna know what's going on in there!], Amy thought unhappily. She worried about what was happening with Willow in there, though her memories said she was fine after today last time.

Suddenly, she frowned. Why was she feeling . . . Well, 'protective' seemed to the right word, as silly as that sounded, over Willow. That was crazy, wasn't it? After all, she was here because she wanted to get even with the redhead, so why was even a little worried about what was happening in there? A thought occurred to her and she smiled inwardly. [That must be it,] she thought with great satisfaction. [I'm just worried they'll screw up my plans, that's all. I don't want anyone messing things up before I can get things set up the way I want them. Once I can control what Willow does, I won't care what happens anymore.] Satisfied with her reasoning, Amy happily went back to her plotting.

* * *

Chapter 2

Faith looked around the swanky office for the tenth or twelfth time as Xander and Angel verbally sparred, her eyes once again falling on the antique sword collection behind the vampire's head. If she didn't give her old mentor anything else, she had to admit he had good taste in weapons. Smirking a little, she wondered how hard it would be to con him out of the katana. She'd been wanting one for a while, ever since Xander had given her a couple Usagi Yojimbo graphic novels, which, combined with her love of sharp pointy things, meant she very badly wanted one of the Japanese weapons. The one on the wall looked like a really good one, not one of the cheap pieces of shit they sold around where she lived.

Bringing her attention back to the two men, she quickly hid a grin at Angel's expression. Xander had never been one of his favorite people, more tolerated for Buffy's sake, and now hers, than anything else. Anyone who'd ever met Xander knew his opinions on vampires, opinions that extended to Angel as well, with a few other things tossed on to mix in. Yet, underneath it all, she could sense that both men respected each other and she knew that neither would let the dislike of the other to interfere with working together, if the need arose.

For now, though, it looked like joint missions of the new Watcher's Council and "Team Angel" might be a thing of the past. At least, that was Giles' feelings when he'd dispatched Faith to talk to the ensouled vampire. And where Faith went, her Watcher and Xander followed. Which is what led to the two of them sitting in Angel's office while her Watcher chatted with Wesley about the Council obtaining copies of certain volumes in Wolfram & Hart's massive occult library.

When they'd first gotten word that Angel was the new head of Wolfram & Hart, Giles had made the decision that Angel had just climbed in bed with the enemy, so, unless the fate of the world depended on it, Angel and his associates were to be left strictly alone. It hadn't been a popular decision. Faith, Buffy and Willow had argued with the Council's new leader, but none had swayed him. Nor had assurances from both Willow and Althenea that Angel still had his soul. Giles maintained that even if Angel wasn't evil again right then, the influence of Wolfram & Hart itself would inevitably corrupt the vampire.

Now, over a year later, tentative overtures were being made. With Willow's help, Faith had convinced Giles to let her go to talk to Angel so she could suss out whether the place was getting to him. She'd used the information Willow had provided to show that the evil things and deeds the law firm had been mixed up in before Angel had taken over were nearly nonexistent. Wolfram & Hart had even started to show a profit again after Angel had axed so many shady programs and dealings. Finally, they'd convinced her former Watcher to let them try and here they were.

A subtle change in the room's air pressure returned the former rogue from her inner musings in time to hear the door behind her close. Letting her head drop backwards, she gave her approaching Watcher an upside down smile, which the slender young brunette returned. "Find anything we could use, babe?"

The woman laughed as she walked up beside the chair the Slayer was sprawled in before spinning slightly to plop into the older woman's lap, Faith giving a theatric "Oof!" sound as she caught her. She gave the Slayer an admonishing look, then smiled again. "Well, since Wesley is a 'retired'," she made quotes marks in the air, "Watcher, he really knew just which books to show me to make our report to Giles look favorable." She kissed Faith quickly before smiling again. "So, yeah, I guess I found a few things we could use."

Faith smiled herself and nodded decisively. "Cool. Now, if Angel and Xander'll stopped pissin' in the corners long enough to talk things out, maybe we'll get somewhere."

Angel broke off what he was saying to the other man in the room and gave her a sour look, ignoring the Slayer's snort of amusement. His eyes cut to the young woman currently perched in Faith's lap and the vampire smiled a little. "How are you doing, Dawn? Did Wesley and Fred show you everything you wanted to see?"

Dawn Summers smiled at Angel, not even twitching from her current seat. "Can't complain too much, Angel. I mean, a week on a beach somewhere would be nice, but other than that, it's all good." She looked at Xander when he barked a little laugh at her qualifier, then sucked in a quick breath as Faith nuzzled her throat and began to nibble. With a little effort, she forced herself to ignore what her lover was doing and smiled at the men. "Something funny, Xand? Does that noise mean you _wouldn't_ like a week of Faith and me in really skimpy bikinis during the day and dancing all night? I mean, if the thought of that _bothers_ you, I'm sure we can find someone else to help with the suntan lotion and to dance with and stuff."

Xander smiled at his fellow Watcher but refused to rise to the bait. He felt a jolt of arousal course through him, but, like Dawn, he ignored it. Mostly due to practice, since Faith did this a lot. "Sure, that's fine with me, as long as I can head over to Vegas and catch a few shows, maybe visit a few clubs of my own." He glanced toward the somewhat confused looking vampire and his smile turned gleeful. He so loved springing this on people. "That seems fair, right, Deadboy?"

Before Angel could answer, Faith's head jerked up and away from Dawn's throat, her face scrunched up in displeasure. "You don't get to go to strip clubs unless we're with you. You know the rules, X-man."

Dawn laughed lightly and turned the Slayer's face toward her. "Hey, teasing each other is in the rules, too, remember Tough Girl?" she gently chided her lover. Glancing over at Xander, she smirked. "Besides, why worry? Not like he has that great a taste in women, right?"

Faith opened her mouth to . . . she didn't know whether it was to agree or protest when an indignant "Hey!" sounded through the office. Both women looked toward an angry appearing Xander.

"I'll have you know I have _excellent_ taste in women!" he primly informed Dawn before leering at them both. "I mean, look who I'm with now. Besides, it's _way_ more fun to watch Faith flirt with the dancers and waitresses than to do it myself, so no worries about me going alone, Faith."

The Slayer smirked and nodded her head. "Nice save, stud. Just for that, I'll let you play with the kid here first tonight, how's that?"

"Hey!" Dawn yelled indignantly. "What am I, some kinda damned sex toy or something? Don't _I_ get a say in this?"

Faith laughed and shook her head. "Nope. Besides, you squeak like a toy whenever I do this;" The brunette lunged forward and let her lips slip around one of the teen's earlobes. She lightly bit down as one hand came up and pinched Dawn's right nipple.

Dawn inhaled sharply and squeaked loudly as the twin sensations sent a strong ripple of desire through her. As Faith continued to nibble and her hand started to caress and knead, she moaned and leaned into her girlfriend's touch.

"What the hell's going on?"

Faith pulled away from her 'snack' and smirked at Angel's question. "What's it look like, Fang? I'm makin' out with my girlfriend." She flashed him a look of pure deviltry, then resumed her 'attack' on Dawn, much to the younger girl's delight.

Faith felt a presence behind her and looked up as Xander said, in a feigned exasperated tone, "I thought you said I got her first, yet here you are, line jumping again. What am I gonna do with you?"

"Help me turn her into a quivering puddle, then fuck me till I can't walk straight?" Faith offered helpfully. When Xander merely cocked an eyebrow, the dark haired beauty just sighed and shook her head. "Keep your pantyhose on, will ya? I'm just warmin' her up for ya, big guy, that's all."

"Which I might totally appreciate, _**IF**_ we were anywhere but Deadboy's office. Since that's where we are, what say we slow this down until we get back the hotel, 'k?" His smile turned to an almost evil smirk and he waggled his eyebrows. "Then _we_ can turn Dawnie into a quivering puddle and we can screw around 'till neither of us can walk. Deal?"

Faith laughed throatily before giving the blushing teen in her lap one more, deep kiss. "Sounds like a plan to me, X." Grabbing the front of his shirt, she pulled the former carpenter down for an equally deep kiss. "Sorry, Fang. Floor show's over for now." She grinned at her confused mentor, ruthlessly suppressing the urge to laugh at him.

For his part, Angel furiously went over what he'd just witnessed in his mind, trying to figure out what it all meant. Faith had said that Dawn was her girlfriend, which was kinda obvious from the way she and the younger woman were making out. It was their comments to Xander and his replies that were tripping the ensouled vampire up, not to mention that kiss Faith just gave him. Finally, after chasing the thoughts for several minutes, he looked at Faith and asked, "Okay, just what the hell is going on? You didn't say anything about a girlfriend the last time we talked, you know. And what the hell does Xander have to do with it?"

The once rogue allowed herself a sardonic smile just as Xander broke out in loud chortles and Dawn buried her face into her Slayer's chest and shook with quiet laughter. Faith smacked her boyfriend's stomach lightly, for a Slayer, and gave him a stern look while curling her other arm around Dawn. "It's like this, Angel. Xan and I started talking right after Sunnyhell went bye-bye, mostly me tryin' to be a friend and someone he could yell and rant at or let it out about Anya buying it in the last battle. Squeaks here and me started hanging out about the same time." She grinned but said nothing about the indignant noise Dawn made about her new nickname. "As soon as we got clear of the fight with the First, B started treatin' her like she always had, like she was 5 or somethin'."

Xander reached out and started running his fingers through Dawn's hair, the girl starting to almost purr at his touch. "God knows I love Buffy like a sister, but she can be really blind when it comes to Dawn." He flashed a grin at Faith, then looked back at Angel. "I mean, Squeaks here had my back in the last battle in SunnyD, even saved my ass when I got tackled by a buncha bringers, so Buff's attitude was starting to grate on me and I mentioned that to Faith one night on a training patrol. She suggested we bring Dawnie along on our patrols. It took a lot of arguing, but Buffy finally gave in when she saw that _all_ of us except her thought Dawn should be allowed to go."

Angel nodded, but still looked a little lost. "Okay, I can understand all that. I can even understand how she became a Watcher. What I don't get is why you are all acting like your together. Who's dating who? I mean, it's kind of obvious from the way Faith was attacking Dawn's throat like a newly risen vampire, they have something going, but where do you fit into it, Xander?" 

Dawn smiled at the vampire, trying hard not to laugh at the half confused, half angry look on his face. Taking a deep breath and telling her hormones a firm 'later', she smiled at Angel. "It's pretty simple, Angel. I had a crush on Xander for ages, basically ever since I stopped thinking boys were disgusting and I had a seriously confusing crush on Faith when she was in Sunnydale the first time. In fact, I was crushing on them both back them and it really confused the hell out of me. Which one did I like more and didn't it mean I was weird or sick if I liked Faith like I liked Xander?" She smiled apologetically at both of her lovers. "Anyway, before I could come up with any answers, Faith switched sides and I tried to stop liking her, since she was hurting Buffy and everyone. Then she hurt mom and me when she woke up from her coma and Xander was dating Anya and I was starting to notice that not every guy in my school was a complete waste." 

She stopped and looked at Faith, who was currently looking away, her expression one of remorse. Dawn stopped her narrative for a second to gently turn the Slayer's face back toward her, though Faith kept her eyes downcast. "Hey, you know I know you were a different person then and I forgave you for all that a long time ago. So did Mom, so no more feeling bad, okay?" She ducked her head until she could see Faith's dark eyes. "Okay?"

Faith gave the younger woman a little smile and a microscopic nod, but the Key saw and smiled, hugging the Dark Slayer tightly to her, whispering "I love you." in her ear. That caused Faith to hold the teen tighter. 

Xander watched his girlfriends as they hugged and whispered to each other and took up Dawn's narrative. "So anyway, like Faith said earlier, she and I started hanging out, nothing more, after we closed the old Hellmouth. She helped me come to terms with Anya's death and got me to open up again to my friends and family while she also helped get Buffy to ease up on Dawn. Anyway, the three of us started to take smallish groups of baby Slayers on training patrols. Nothin' big, just three to five girls, teachin' them teamwork and making sure they stayed alive long enough to learn how to be a Slayer. When they'd been out with us a few times, we'd trade off with Buffy. She taught them self-reliance as opposed to our lessons on teamwork."

Seeing that Angel was losing his patience on his long winded explanation, Xander smirked and fought down the impulse to go into greater detail on the differences between his and Buffy's methods of teaching Slayers. Shaking his head a little and taking his sense of humor firmly in hand, he continued his narration. "Anyway, to make a long story longer, that whole thing about slaying making a Slayer horny and hungry? Dead on, at least for a pretty high percentage of'em. After a really busy night, Faith and I dropped the Slay-babies off at their rooms and Dawnie headed off to her own bed and I walked Faith back to her room, trying to ignore that she was nearly buzzing from the night's Slaying. She'd never given me any sign up to that point that she wanted to get together as anything other than friends, so I was trying to not think about it.

"Anyway, we get to her bedroom door and she surprises the hell outta me by turning to me and asking if I'll stay with her for the night. I stalled and asked what exactly did she want from me and she spelled it out, that she was going nuts from the feelings the Slaying stirred up and would I please help her out tonight and we could talk about what it might mean in the morning." He smirked at Angel as he stroked his hands down across both Faith and Dawn's hair, his fingertips lightly scratching their scalps. "Now, I don't know about you, Deadboy, but when one of the sexiest, most beautiful women I've ever met asks me if I could please spend the rest of the night having wild, passionate sex with her, I smile and follow and do my best."

Both women tilted their heads back and looked at him, Faith with a loving expression and a faint blush at his compliments, but Dawn had a little scowl. After all, he hadn't said nice things about _her_ , now had he? Xander smiled at his younger lover's glower and leaned down and kissed her lingeringly. "I said she was _one_ of the sexiest, most beautiful. Any guesses on who I think the other one is?" He whispered in her ear, delighting in the blush that flashed across Dawn's cheeks just before she captured his lips in a steamy kiss.

Faith grinned and shook her head, her eyes slipping closed for a moment. Opening them again, she looked toward her one time mentor and took up what Xander had been saying. "So, anyway, me and Patch went at it till we both crashed and then talked when we woke up the next morning. I was tired of doing the one night thing, but I hadn't ever done the relationship thing either, so I asked if he'd be willing to just be friends who scratched each other's itches sometimes. He wasn't so sure, but agreed to try it."

"I was worried I'd fall for her and then she'd decide to move on and, after Anya, I wasn't sure I could've taken that. Faith, as I'm sure you know, knows how to get her way when she wants it, so I agreed and one of us stayed in the other's room almost every night after that." Xander smiled at Faith for a second, then returned his attention to Dawn and the teasing kisses he was leaving on her slender neck.

Angel scowled at the one-eyed man for a moment, the debate clear on his face whether to say anything as Xander continued to slowly make out with the squirming brunette on Faith's lap. His eyes flicked to the Slayer's face and his scowled deepened at the laughter he clearly saw there. "Okay, fine," he growled. "I understand how you two got together, but how does Dawn fit into it? Does Buffy know what you're doing? I can't believe she'd approve of it!"

Faith shrugged. "Dizzy's over eighteen, so what B thinks don't mean shit. For the record, she's not too happy, but there ain't a lot she can do, so she ignores it as best she can. Anyway, Dawn got in on the act a hair over four months back when we were celebratin' X-Man's birthday. We were all drinking beer and shit, even B. Hell, Willow and Kennedy were in that weekend and Red was lettin' Junior have a couple beers, so I figured, 'what the hell', y'know? She wasn't leavin' the house, so I gave Dawn a beer and kinda hung around her for a few minutes, just to make sure she was gonna be okay."

Faith paused and snorted her amusement and glanced at Dawn. "Must be a Summers chick thing cause Diz can't hold her liquor any better than Buffy can, so it got drunk out pretty damn quick." She ignored the glare that Dawn was trying to send her way, chuckling at both the memory and at her younger lover as Xander started to nibble on Dawn's ear and she couldn't _quite_ suppress a moan. "Anyway, she drags me to a couch pretty soon and starts tellin' me all about this monster crush she had on Xand, how she thought it was gone, but what with hangin' out with the two of us on patrol and shit, now she wasn't so sure she was over him. Then she looks at me and tells me about how she useta crush on me too and that that made everything worse and more confusing. She finished off the beer she had and started passin' out on me, so I figured I'd get her up to bed and maybe B wouldn't wanna gut me for gettin' her sister drunk if I told her I watched out for her too. So there I was, half carrying her up the stairs, her mumblin' some shit about how she's never really been kissed and that the vampire didn't count and that confused the hell outta me, cause I thought it was B that liked to screw around with vamps. Anyway, I got her tucked in bed and went back to the party.

"A few days later we were all chillin' out around the pool and I was watchin' Dizzy chase Andrew around the pool till she finally pushed'im in. Not that I cared about that. I was lookin' at D cause she was lookin' hot in her bikini and I was thinkin' about what she said about being hot for me at one time," She stopped and laughed. "Well, that and anyone torturin' that little prick gets my attention. Anyway, X-Man brought me a cold one and I was thinkin' about Dawn and she'd said she liked him too and God knows, I got no problem with playin' with more than one person at a time, so I told him I thought we oughta get Diz to join us the next time tried to break a mattress." Faith ignored the growl coming from her boyfriend, but Dawn's little noises of pleasure were beginning to get to her. They were going to need to leave soon and head back for the hotel or Angel was going to get a _real_ show, not just a little making out.

"He freaked at first, but I got'im to admit he knew about D's crush and that, yeah, she was lookin' _damn_ fine these days and that he probably _would_ be chasin' her if he didn't know her already, but . . ." The Slayer stopped at the phone on Angel's desk rang.

The vampire scowled at the thing and pressed the intercom button. "Harmony, I thought I said no interruptions unless the building was on fire. Since I don't heard alarms or smell smoke, why am I talking to you?"

Angel's underlying snarl of displeasure must have made it through the electronics of the telephone intact because Harmony's voice contained an unsure, quavering note. "Um, I know you did and I'm sorry, but, well, Willow's on the phone. She says she needs to talk to Xander or Dawn and it's like life and death important."

Xander's head snapped up from where he was teasing Dawn and, peripherally, he saw her and Faith both look toward the vampire as he did. The man cocked one eyebrow and nodded slightly toward the phone on Angel's desk, then straightened and walked forward as Angel nodded and told Harmony to put her through.

The tall brunet answered with, "Hey Will. What's going on? I was gonna call you in a couple hours from the hotel, so . . ." He stopped talking and his eye opened wide and he felt the blood drain from his face. "Ar-are you _sure_ about that? Okay, okay! Yeah, I know you wouldn't make that kind of mistake . . . Yeah, we'll be on our way as soon as we swing by the hotel for our stuff . . . Yeah, as soon as we know anything . . . Yeah . . . Okay . . . Talk to you in a few hours . . . Huh? Tell Buffy she's fine and will stay that way. Yeah . . . Bye Will." Hanging up the phone, he glanced at the other male in the room and tried to smile, but failed. Distantly, he heard the door to Angel's office slam open. "Angel, it was fun, but we gotta cut this short. Willow asked us to check something up the coast immediately and we need to kick it to get there and get set up before dark." 

Angel flicked a glance at Wesley and Fred as they rushed toward him, his face worried, hers pale and drawn. Before he could, Dawn asked, "What's up Xand? Why do you look so freaked?" She was showing her own uncertainty plainly and the hand that gripped Faith's was nearly white knuckled.

Xander swallowed roughly. "It's . . ." He coughed and cleared his throat. "It's the Hellmouth. It's back. So is Sunnydale," was all he said before charging toward the exit. Faith and Dawn looked at each other for a second, both deciding questions could wait. Jumping to their feet, they quickly followed their boyfriend, leaving Angel and his people behind without so much as a wave.

* * *

Amy stifled a yawn then turned to look at a nearby clock. She sighed as she realized Willow had been in that curtained off area for over an hour and, to be honest, she was really getting bored. Her stomach growled angrily and she grimaced and added hungry to her list of feelings at that moment. The witch looked at the "doorway" the redhead had gone through again, then back at the clock. Giving a growly sigh of frustration, Amy stood, deciding she might as well have lunch and find Willow afterward. Surely whatever company was talking to her would let her go eat, right? 

Giving the closed off area one more dirty look, she headed off in the direction of the cafeteria, automatically dodging people. She remembered what high school was like, the fact that she was nearly as much of a social leper as Willow or Xander used to be (and still were, for the most part). That added to how much of a loner she'd become after Willow had turned away from her and killed Rack, so she didn't make eye contact with anyone, just tried to disappear.

When she got to the lunchroom, she gave the notice on the door a glance to see what was being served that day and felt a small knot of unease thread itself through her subconscious. There was something on the paper that didn't seem right. Then the feeling passed as quickly as it hit and she joined the line for food. Tray secured, she grabbed one of the small, corner table usually "reserved" for outcast freshmen that gave her a good view of most of the room.

She spotted Xander right away, sitting at another of the smaller table and looking around. Amy nibbled at her lunch as she watched the young man, mentally comparing the seventeen year old in front of her to the twenty three year old man she'd last seen. This Xander was, of course, a bit more slender, his chest not as wide, his arms not as developed from the construction work he loved. The older Xander also had more visible self-confidence than his younger counterpart and, after a moment, Amy understood why; the younger version wasn't yet comfortable with himself. He also, if Amy was remembering correctly, hadn't started dating Cordelia yet.

She was jarred out of her thoughts by movement near Xander's table as Buffy joined him and he slid some food and a drink across to the blonde girl. Again, Amy started comparing the older Buffy she'd last seen to the fresh faced girl across the room. The first thing that leapt out was the younger Slayer was no longer a poster child for eating disorders. She looked healthy, not underfed, tanned, toned and all together pretty damned good. That thought jarred Amy's thoughts again. Since when did she think another girl looked 'good'? She didn't like girls like that.

Shaking her head at the notion, she cleared her mind of those kinds of thoughts and started trying to think of a way to enter the group. Just asking seemed like a bad idea. She remembered that Cordelia, at this time, was a 'part-time' Scoobie, but that was because they'd had to rescue her a few times and she'd just not run away. Allowing herself to be vamp-bait in the hopes that Buffy would save her in time was a _really_ dumb idea, so she rejected the idea.

A girl at a nearby table started packing her books away and Amy smiled. That was it! That was how she could do it. Willow's willingness to help anyone with the schoolwork was legendary, so all she had to do was ask the redhead to help her. As she recalled, her french and math grades were never that great anyway and it would make her dad happy to see better grades while letting her accomplish her true goal. She could offer, after a few sessions, to help Willow with learning witchcraft and, since she'd be teaching her, she could make sure Willow was always less powerful than herself. It was brilliant! Willow would even make the others let her into the Scoobies, since Giles was their only magic support right now.

Smiling happily to herself, Amy tore into her lunch, suddenly incredibly hungry, as she watched Buffy and Xander and waited for a flash of familiar red hair.

* * *

Chapter 3

Just as Amy was about to give up on her idea of talking to Willow at lunch, the redhead dashed in and almost collided with the table Buffy and Xander were at. Blushing the whole time, she sat down quickly and began to wolf down the sandwich, apple and soft drink her friends gave her, the other two talking to her the whole time. Willow answered with exaggerated gestures in between bites and Amy found herself wishing she was close enough to hear what they were talking about.

With a growling little sigh and a pout, the strawberry blonde girl sat back, her arms folded. She knew that, if her plan worked, she'd find out what was being said sooner or later, but she wanted to know now, just in case it would affect her overall plan. She was so intent on her perceived annoyance, she lost track of time and was actually surprised when the bell rang, announcing the end of the first lunch period. Quickly, Amy jumped to her feet and gather her bag and backpack, then her tray to be emptied as all around her, dozens of others did the same thing, including the group she been watching so intently.

Moving quickly, she got out the door before most of the others, then stopped, waiting for Willow and the Scoobies. Toward the end of the pack, her patience was rewarded and she pasted a smile on her face as she stepped up to intercept the redhead. "Hey, guys," she said with all the enthusiasm she could muster.

Buffy and Xander mumbled a quasi-friendly greeting, clearly distracted by something that Amy was interrupting, but Willow smiled and replied with equal fervor. "Hi, Amy! How've you been?"

"Oh, I'm doing good. My mom still hasn't come back, so that's all to the good, right? I mean, no more body swaps, so I'm glad of that, although, if you guys don't mind, can I talk to you for a minute, Willow? It'll be real quick, I promise."

Willow gave a little shrug and glanced at the other two people flanking them and said, "Sure. I'll catch up with you guys in class, okay?" Xander and Buffy agreed, though the former looked at the other girl speculatively for a second before moving off. Willow turned back to Amy and indicated they should continue to walk. "So, what's up?"

Amy made a little expression of contrition. "Uh . . . I was actually wondering if you were still doing the tutoring thing. Y'know, if you had the time and stuff. I-I could really use the help with a few classes, if you've got the time to take pity on a former friend."

Willow stopped walking and looked the slightly shorter girl dead in the eyes. "Okay, first of all, what's this 'former' friend stuff? I don't remember saying we weren't friends anymore and I'm pretty sure you didn't either, so we never stopped being friends, okay? As for helping you with your homework and stuff, sure, I can do that, no problem. I mean, I'm already helping Buffy and I've always had to help Xander, so I know I can work you in there somewhere. Oh! Do you have sixth period free? We could meet in one of the back corners of the library and talk about what you need help with. Would that be okay?"

Amy just looked at the babbling redhead and felt . . . something wander through her at Willow's statement that they'd never stopped being friends. She wasn't entirely sure, but it almost felt like . . . gratitude? Happiness? She'd forgotten for a moment that this Willow hadn't lived through all the bad things they'd done to each other. Giving herself a little shake, she started to speak, then stopped and cleared her throat and tried again. "Um, no, I have French sixth. How about we wait til after school, then meet in that back corner. Would that be okay with you?"

"That would be great!" Willow enthused, then her face fell a little. "Except that I can only be there for about an hour, because I promised I would help Giles with some inventory stuff later this evening. Would that be okay? I mean, we really need to see what you need help with and make a plan for it first thing and we can probably do that in an hour, right?"

Amy nodded her head and smiled. To her faint surprise, it felt genuine. "Yeah, that would be cool. I mean, I didn't warn my dad I would be late tonight, so I couldn't stay very long anyway. So, we have a plan and I'll see you after school, okay?" Willow grinned and nodded as well, just as the warning bell rang. "We both better run!" She started to turn and leave, but something made her turn back. "Oh and Willow? I'm glad we never stopped being friends. Sometimes I miss the old days, y'know?"

Willow gave her an understanding, sympathetic smile. "Yeah, I remember and I miss those days, too. We can talk about that too, later, okay?" Amy nodded and Willow waved and started walking backwards. "Okay, see you after school!" With that, the redhead spun and ran off toward her class, leaving the other girl still standing there, watching her leave.

As Amy watched Willow turn the corner, she smiled internally as the first part of her plan was finally put in place and was in motion. Now all she had to do was keep up the 'friends' act for a few weeks and all would be perfect. Although, why did she get this twinge inside herself when she thought of just pretending to be friends with Willow? After all, she didn't really _need_ friends, did she? Once she had Willow under her control, they would be able to have anything they wanted in this Godforsaken town, but she didn't need to be 'friends' with her to control her. Still, a small but slowly growing part of her liked the thought of the two of them being like they were when they were kids. Best friends with each other and with Xander and Jesse. Would it be such a bad thing to have that again? Would it so mess up her plans to really be friends, not just pretend, to not just use her, then move on?

Amy didn't know, but that small part of her wanted to find out. It wanted to find out badly. Maybe, just maybe, the way this wish had worked out might not be so bad after all.

* * *

Xander, Dawn and Faith drove, slightly faster than the speed limit, along a road they'd last traveled nearly three years earlier and then, in the opposite direction. They'd been leaving the crater that Sunnydale had become in the aftermath of their epic battle with the First Evil. Each was lost within their own thoughts, though some of those, by necessity, overlapped, since the three of them had so many shared memories from their intended destination

For the tenth or eleventh time since they'd left LA, Faith asked, "So, Red didn't have any idea how SunnyHell came back? Not even a guess?"

Xander sighed and passed a slow moving mini-van before answering his lover. "No, she said she didn't know what happened, other than one of the Coven's seers had 'felt a great disturbance in the Force' and that they did a ritual to find out what was going on and found and extra Hellmouth. Another ritual said it was the ol' hometown Hellmouth, so they called Will and she called us. Other than that, I got nothin' except we'll be there in about half an hour, forty five minutes at the most. I figure if the town _is_ back, we grab a late lunch, then explore and see if we can figure out what's going on. Sound good to you guys?"

From the backseat, Dawn said, "All but the part where we eat there _before_ we've even tried to figure out what's going on. I vote for eating at one of the little places outside of town, _then_ heading into town and look the place over. Faith?"

Faith stared straight ahead for a few minutes, then slowly nodded, clearly coming to a decision. "Dawnie's got a point about getting' food before we get to the old city limits. We have no idea why Sunny-D's back, so we have no real idea if it's safe to eat there yet. If we hit a restaurant and Safeway or somethin' before we get there, we won't have to worry about til tomorrow, earliest."

Xander just shrugged. "Makes sense. If I remember right, there's a pretty good sized truck stop kinda place a few miles out of town. We'll stop there, eat and stock up. We probably should also get our patrol weapons out of the trunk and put them up here with us, so we don't have to worry about it later."

The older brunette looked back at the younger. Dawn nodded and gave a little smile. "It's a plan." Closing her eyes, she leaned back into the seat. "Wake me when we get there, okay?"

 

* * * Story Idea * * *

Set 1-2 years after show, utterly ignoring the comics. Word gets to Scoobies that Sunnydale is back. No explanation, just the town is back, like it was never destroyed. Buffy sends Faith, Dawn and Xander to investigate. It's true, Sunnydale is back, but it's the Sunnydale from 7-8 years ago. The Scoobs are already there, but their 16-17 year old selves (Basically, this starts just before Kendra's arrival and Spike's attempts to revive Drusilla.)

The original plan was to use this to get Joyce, Jenny and Kendra back, as well as reform Amy. The only planned pairings/relationships were Xander/Faith/Dawn and young Willow/Amy, if I could make it work. I'd definitely planned to get rid of the duplicates of Wilkins, Spike and Drusilla, but Angel didn't lose his soul until after Kendra's first visit, so was still undecided about him. Also was fuzzy about what to do with the town full of dupes that were best part of a decade of off time. If anyone wants to play with this, please feel free.


	3. Chapter 2 - Little Hands Make Crazy Parents (Harry Potter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when you think you understand what's going on, Fate often decides to remind you who's boss. Harry and the Weasleys get visitors on Ginny's 14th birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story started out as an answer to the Twins Time Travel Challenge from middle part of 2008 from the Harry/Ginny site Sink Into Your Eyes. Basic premise was, James Sirius and Lily Luna were twins, instead of oldest and youngest and, as the challenge title says, they were slung back in time. To the summer before Harry's fifth year, to be precise. This story started as my answer to said challenge.
> 
> However, with me being a world class procrastinator(well, I will be, as soon as I get around to filling the paperwork ^_- ) and a muse with a severe case of ADD, and, well . . . Things got delayed. Unfortunately. Still, I hope you guys like what's here.

Disclaimer: All of the materials borrowed from the world of Harry Potter are the property of JK Rowling and anyone else she's granted rights to. I have borrowed them for creative and entertainment purposes only. No compensation has been or ever shall be received for the writing below. No copyright infringement is intended. 

Spoilers: All books through GoF and well after DH

Comments and Feedback: Yes, please. Any type you wanna send. Can't fix what I don't know is broken, right? 

Oh, and thoughts look like this: _[These are just thoughts]_

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Chapter 1

"No really, Mrs. Weasley, I'll burst if I try to eat another one!" Harry Potter deftly deflected the Weasley matriarch's offer of a fifth sandwich, giving a half turn and handing the sandwich to his best friend(male), Ron Weasley. "Here, Ron. It's too good to go to waste." The raven haired boy winked at his other best friend(female), Hermione Granger when she snarled her nose up in apparent disgust at Ron's expression of happiness of the offer of his _seventh_ sandwich. Harry knew she didn't truly feel that way, as evidenced by the tolerant look in her medium brown eyes.

Looking across the table, sitting beside Hermione, he smiled at the only person in the room younger than him, Ron's sister Ginny. The pretty redhead(and Harry could admit that, if only in the abstract) smiled back and rolled her eyes, both teens well used to the antics of their siblings, blood and adopted both.

That was how Harry felt about Ron and Hermione(well, _most_ of the time, anyway), that they were his brother and sister in all but blood. He suppose that that would also make Ginny his sister as well, but, for some reason he couldn't name, that idea was always rejected by his mind. For whatever reason his crazy brain came up with, he couldn't think of Ginny as a sibling, so she was simply a very good friend, second only to her brother and Hermione.

Harry shook his head slightly, trying to dislodge his weird thoughts, trying also to preserve the good mood that had pervaded the Burrow for the last thirty hours or so. The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione had come home at the request of the youngest of them, who didn't want to celebrate her birthday the day before in the dreary surrounds of Grimmauld place. Though Molly was initially concerned with the safety of such a move, even she agreed quickly, all of them being rather sick of the depressing atmosphere of the ancestral Black estate. Ginny had wanted Sirius to come with them, but Dumbledore wouldn't allow it, so he'd wished them a good time and Ginny a happy birthday, then the last scion of the House of Black sent them through the floo network with a forced smile.

Harry looked around the table, smiling slightly as he observed the assembled family, his family, or, at least, as close to one as he was ever likely to get. Arthur and his eldest son Bill were discussing various Wizarding World events. The younger Weasley was also fending off his mother's attempts to get more information about the girl Bill had just started dating, as well as her attempts to get him to agree to a haircut. The next two Weasleys were absent, Charlie unable to get time off and Percy in his self-induced exile. Of the two, Harry wished Charlie could be there, as he'd only seen Charlie a couple times, but those times had been fun and Harry hoped to get to know the big dragon-tamer better. The twins were no longer at the table, having eaten quickly, then excused themselves, saying they were in the middle of something for school. Molly had looked at them dubiously, then allowed them to escape.

Harry refused to waste more than a thought on Percy. If even half the things Ron told him Percy had said were true, he owed the great prat at least a punch in the nose, maybe even talking Ginny into a Bat Bogey Hex. Not that he thought it would take a lot of talking. He remembered the anger in her normally warm eyes as Ron had relayed the story to him. He suppressed a shudder at the memory and offered a prayer to any god out there listening that he never made the redheaded girl that angry with him! Boy-Who-Lived or not, he was at _all_ confident of his ability to survive the wrath of Ginny Weasley! Looking at Ginny laughing and giggling over something Hermione had whispered to her allowed Harry to nip the return of his seemingly perpetual bad mood in the bud.

He started to ask what was so funny, but was stopped by what sounded like an argument in the living room of the ramshackle house. That confused him, since, except for the aforementioned Charlie and Percy, they were all there and weren't expecting anyone. Especially not, if his hearing was accurate, children, since that's what the high pitched voices sounded like. They were louder now and the various conversations around the table died off as more people registered the ever-louder disturbance. Faintly, Harry began to be able to distinguish words as the voice became more strident and even louder.

" . . .t _my_ fault James! I _told_ you to put it down!"

"YOU DID NOT!!" A similar voice roared back. "You're the one who dared me to pick it up, didn't she, Rosie? She dared me!"

Another voice, softer than the other two, said something that Harry couldn't hear, then the second voice was back. "Gee, thanks a _lot_ , Rosie! See?! THIS is why Nikki is my favorite cousin, not _you_!"

The voices all sounded far too high pitched to be Death Eaters or any similar kind of intruders and Harry was sure he'd never heard them before, though they did sound faintly familiar. Looking around the table, Harry found everyone looking back at him and each other, the same perplexed, half apprehensive expression on their faces. Holding a finger before his lips, Arthur Weasley quietly stood, signaling Bill to come with him. Everyone stayed silent as the two men drew their wands and approached the door. By equally wordless assent, they all slowly stood and started to follow them, Molly first, then the trio and Ginny bringing up the rear. Ron nearly shouted a complaint when Ginny hit him hard in retaliation for his repeated attempts to shove her behind them all. Nudging Ron, Harry and Hermione both shook their heads at him, silently telling him to leave his sister alone. Ginny flashed them both a smile, but remained just behind Harry anyway.

The arguments had escalated to all three voices shouting various things about blame, apparent parental reprisal and how much they didn't like each other. Arthur looked directly at Bill and nodded firmly to one side of the doorway, then tossed his head a bit back the other way and the younger man nodded his understanding. Mouthing a countdown, on 'one', Arthur threw open the door, flattening himself along its open length while Bill slid along the wall on the other side, Molly left standing in the doorway, all of them with their wands drawn and pointed at where it sounded like the intruders were. Motion on the stairs caught Bill's attention and he spotted the twins stealthily descending, their own wands out. 

When the door slammed open, the argument ceased and the 'intruders' stopped and stared in surprise and a little fright that quickly changed to relief. As for the Weasleys, they were all surprised to find three children, two girls and a boy, standing in their living room. All appeared to be young, within a year or two of each other. The little boy had messy black hair, dark eyes and looked to be maybe six or seven. One of the girls looked to be about the same age, with straight Weasley red hair and big, bright green eyes. Both were slender and looked familiar to everyone. The second little girl looked like she still had the faintest bit of baby fat left and seemed to be a little younger than the other two. She had bright blue eyes and bushy red hair, again in a shade most of the people who knew of them called Weasley red.

When they realized who it was standing there, the children relaxed for a second, then the little boy scowled at the girl with straight hair and charged toward Arthur, loudly declaring, "Grampie, it's all Lily's fault! _She_ gave it to me and _she_ dared me to touch it, so I was just doing what she said, right? So how can it be my fault if she said to do it!"

The girl he indicated was named Lily screeched in protest and ran straight to Molly, hugging her tightly around the waist and looking imploringly up at her. Molly returned the child's embrace automatically. "Grams! _I_ didn't do anything! It was all _James_! I _told_ him to leave Daddy's things alone, but you know how he is!" She turned her head and looked at the boy, James and stuck her tongue out at him, then looked back at Molly. "You believe me, don't you Grams?"

Molly's eyes were wide as she looked back and forth between the two children clinging to her and her husband, feeling a little faint. The girl hugging her looked so like Ginny when she was younger, except for the eyes, that she felt her heart ache for those long gone days. Looking at Arthur, she saw that he was just as much at a loss as she was. Of all the things she'd imagined they'd find, children claiming to be her grandchildren wasn't on the list anywhere. Seeing that Arthur wasn't going to be a help for another few minutes, she let her gaze sweep to the other little girl, who promptly came running over to stand in front of her, looking down and wringing her little hands a bit.

The bushy haired girl hesitantly looked up, then back down, obviously waiting for something. When it didn't come, she looked up at Molly again. "Grams? I saw it everything and they're both fibbers. They were both playing with Uncle Harry's necklace, even after he said not to!"

Before Molly could answer, the boy, James apparently, growled out, "Shut it, Rosie! You are such a little tattletale and 'sides, you know it was all Lily's fault!" He looked up at Arthur again, his brown eyes full of pleading innocence. "Grampie, you know she's always making up stories, pro'bly from all those books Aunt 'Mione reads to her. I didn't do nothin' that Lily didn't make me do."

The little girl hugging Molly released her and turned toward the boy. "I didn't make you do _anything_ , James Sirius Potter and you know it!" Lily screamed at him, stamping her feet. "I wasn't even touching Daddy's necklace, you were! And besides, _you're_ the one who messed with the pendant part of it!"

"Well, you gave it to me, didn't you? I wouldn't have bothered it if you hadn't started everything, so see? All your fault," he declared triumphantly.

Bill shook himself and looked at his parents, but both still looked a little out of it, then he looked at each of the children, seeing familiar things in all of them. When Lily had said the boy's name, the eldest Weasley brother's eyes snapped up and over his mother's shoulder to lock with Harry's confused ones. Bill's eyes widened a little and he looked back at the girl, Lily, but her back was to him. He next looked at James and it finally clicked why the kids seemed so familiar. Those were his sister's eyes he was looking at in the little boy's face. A little boy that looked exactly like Harry except for his chocolate eyes and no scar, and a girl that looked like Ginny except for emerald green eyes he'd noticed minutes before. His gaze shifted again and he studied the last child, the one James had called Rosie. She looked on the verge of tears, but her eyes were the same blue that he and Ron had inherited from their father and her hair was as red as any of his family's, yet she looked exactly as he imagined Hermione had looked at five or so. It sank into his mind that he was looking at the children of his youngest brother and sister, as impossible as that seemed.

 _[And yet,]_ he thought to himself, _[with magic, is anything _really_ impossible?]_ Giving himself another shake, Bill smiled reassuringly at Rose and touched his mother on the shoulder. "Mum, since there doesn't seem to be any danger from this lot, why don't we all sit down and talk about what's happened here and how the children got here, okay?"

Molly looked at her eldest, confused by his words a little for a few seconds, then she shook herself out of her stupor and said, with a touch of her usual briskness, "That . . . That sounds like a good idea. Children, come with me, alright?" Molly took Lily's hand and took a step toward the living room, heading for her chair. As soon as she cleared the doorway, Rose spotted the trio, Hermione standing between Harry and Ron, Ginny looking between Harry and Hermione.

"Mummy!" Rose half screamed, running straight to Hermione. Wrapping her little arms as tight as she could around Hermione's waist, Rose buried her face against the startled brunette for a moment before looking up at the surprised teen. "Mummy, why does James have to be so mean to me? I was only telling the truth and you and Daddy always tell me that telling the truth is always best, so that was what I was doing! Tell him to stop being mean to me, please?" Fat tears squeezed from the corners of the child's eyes and rolled down her cheeks and Hermione found herself returning the child's embrace without thought. Getting no other response from Hermione, Rose looked to her right, straight at a very shocked Ron. "Daddy, you'll tell James to leave me alone, won't you?"

Before either confused teen could respond, Lily turned and looked back as well. Pulling away from Molly, she ran straight to Harry, hugging him tightly, exactly as Rose was Hermione. "Daddy, you believe me, don't you? I told James to leave your necklace alone, but he didn't and I think he broke it, but I didn't do anything so I'm not in trouble, right?"

Harry's eyes were glued to the pleading little girl as his mind struggled to catch up. Finally, the words made sense to him and he decided she was expecting some kind of response from him, so he stuttered out, "T-trouble? Umm . . . I don't know. I . . ." He looked helplessly around, not really knowing what to do or say. Seeing that Ron and Hermione were having similar problems so they would most likely be of no help, he turned and looked at an equally startled Ginny. His eyes widened and he looked back down at the little girl's upturned face, then back at Ginny. Sweet Merlin, they looked so much alike!

 _[Wait. She called me 'Daddy' and her eyes look just like mine but she looks so much like Ginny otherwise . . . Does that mean . . .?]_ His thoughts slithered to a halt as he locked eyes with the youngest Weasley and saw the same conclusions registering there. The raven-haired teen felt like he should say something, but, for the life of him, he couldn't think of anything _to_ say.

Fortunately, all four teenagers were saved from trying to answer questions that they simply didn't have answers for when Arthur spoke. "I think Bill has the right of it, everyone. Come on, now, all of you," he said as the group in the kitchen doorway looked up at him. "Come on in here and we'll talk about what happened. You too, boys." Arthur glanced up the stairs, then smiled a little when he saw the twins trooping obediently down to the first level.

Walking beside Hermione, Rose stopped and stared at Fred and George, then looked up with her nose scrunched up in confusion. Lily had a similar expression, Hermione noticed absently before paying attention to the moppet holding her hand. "Mummy, why are there two Uncle Georges? Did he do magic wrong again?"

Everyone looked at the small girl, the room quiet enough to hear a pin drop. After a long look at the twins, Hermione looked down into the trusting blue eyes and smiled reassuringly. "Sweetie, there's only one of, um, 'Uncle George'." Hermione gave Ron a dirty look as he muttered that one "Uncle George" was more than enough, they didn't need two. "The other one is Uncle Fred."

Instead of clearing up her confusion, as Hermione expected, Rose looked even more confused, maybe even a little scared. "Mummy, you know I don't have an Uncle Fred. Freddie is our cousin, right Lily?"

The little redhead holding Harry's hand nodded vigorously. "Rose is right, Aunt 'Mione. Freddie is Uncle Percy's son. We haven't ever met an Uncle named Fred." Her face screwed up in another expression of confusion. "You know all this, so why do you look so funny?"

Hermione turned her gaze to Lily, then looked at each of the room's occupants. All of them, except the children and Fred himself, were looking from Rose and Lily, then over to Fred. George had a look of dawning horror on his face as what the little girls were saying began to seep into his mind, only to be rejected instantly. If these kids knew him, they had to know Fred. There was just nothing else his mind would accept.

Once more, the tableau was broken by the Weasley patriarch. "Come now, we can worry about all that later. Everyone find a place to sit, alright?" Everyone started moving again, Harry, Ron and Hermione automatically heading for the couch they usually shared during such meetings. Unfortunately, they had all grown enough that there was room now for only the three of them and maybe one of the children now crowding around them.

There was definitely no room for Ginny, who was currently being pushed that way by Lily even as the little girl said, "Come on, Mum. You and Daddy _always_ sit together." She stopped and looked at the couch as they got there and scowled at Ron. "Uncle Ron, you gotta get up! Mum doesn't have enough room to sit down and I wanna sit on Daddy's lap, so you gotta move."

Before Ron could say or do anything, Rose hopped up on his lap and stuck her tongue out at her cousin. "No, Daddy, stay here! _My_ Mummy and Daddy are sitting here already, Lily, so _you_ go somewhere else! Just cause you're older than me, that doesn't mean you always get your way all the time, you know." 

A sharply barked, "Girls!" stopped the budding argument and caused both of the redheaded children to look at Molly, both looking defiant and a little guilty at the same time. "There's not enough room on that old couch for all of you and no room to expand it so there's no point in arguing about it. Now, I assume you all three want to sit with your . . . um, parents?" Three nods answered her question, though a glance at the aforementioned 'parents' netted her one horrified and two thoughtful expressions, along with one of burgeoning happiness. "Alright then, you lot can sit over here on the floor in this corner and Bill, you, Fred and George can sit there instead." Satisfied with her arrangements, Molly sat down with the air of a queen assuming her throne, confident her instructions were being obeyed.

Her assumptions were correct, save Bill. He elected to stand by Arthur's chair, one shoulder leaned into the wall. After trading a glance back and forth for a second, all four of the room's youngest occupants, not including the children, of course, moved to where Molly had pointed, then sat in the floor, automatically breaking into couples without any prompting from the children. As soon as they stopped moving, Ron and Harry both found their laps full of squirming little girls, while James plopped down in front of Ginny, wiggling until he was sitting between her legs. He jerked away from his father and sister suddenly as Lily poked him sharply in the ribs. With a growly look, he started to poke her back but Ginny caught his wrist and gave him a stern look, so he subsided.

Finally taking his own seat, Arthur leaned forward, his attention focused on their visitors. "Now, then. Are we all comfortable? Good, good." He smiled for a few seconds, then looked serious again. "Now, James, what's all this about you playing with a necklace of your father's?"

Almost bouncing in place, James said, "I told you Grampie, that was all Lily's fault! She told me to pick it up and . . ."

"I. Did. NOT!" Lily shrieked. Raising her fist at him, she demanded, "You take that back James Potter! It was all your fault, so . . ."

Arthur raised his hands, gesturing for silence, but before he could say anything, Ginny and Harry, moving in eerie symmetry, each slid a hand over the twin's mouths, both admonishing them to be quiet with a soft, "Shh." Harry added, "We can worry about that part later, alright, guys?" before he and Ginny realized what they'd done. He turned to look at her as she looked at him and their gazes locked for a moment, a surprised expression on both their faces before they both blushed and looked away.

From across the room, Molly carefully hid a smile as she watched her youngest children, counting Harry and Hermione as her own, and their surprise visitors. As she observed the children and the teenagers they were sitting with, she completely accepted that she was looking at her own grandchildren. How they'd gotten there wasn't important right now. Lily and James looked exactly like their parents except for the swapped eyes and little Rose was the spitting image of Hermione with Ron's hair color and eyes.

Other things matched up, things only a mother would notice. James pouted like Ginny did at that age, right down to the crossed arms while the slumped body was pure Harry. Lily held herself like her daughter had when she knew she was in trouble and was trying to get out of it. With Rose, it was a little harder, but there were a few little things, like her expression that told Molly the little girl was fighting not to cry. Ron had looked exactly that way when he'd fought tears when he was that young. The main difference between the girl and her youngest son that she could see was, where Ron hadn't wanted to be touched when he felt like that, Rose was curling into her son's body, obviously seeking comfort and reassurance. Molly's chest swelled in pride as she watched Ron respond to the child's need. He cuddled the little girl close and stroked her hair, even though Molly could tell he wasn't aware he was doing it. _[He's going to make such a good father,]_ she thought, her eyes misting a little. _[So like Arthur in that way.]_

Suddenly Molly's breath caught as she truly realized what the children's appearence meant. If Lily, James and Rose were here, then they must have won the war and Harry had lived through it if he and Ginny were married with children. The same applied for Ron and Hermione and, since Lily mentioned she knew Percy's children(More grandchildren!), obviously her stubborn son's estrangement must have ended with him returning to the family. That thought eased the ache his recent departure had caused as well as the worry that Percy would get himself killed without her ever getting to see him again. Wait. Lily and Rose had said that Percy's son was named Fred and that . . . She was pulled from her thoughts by Arthur's voice.

"Harry's right, James. We can worry about who's fault things are later. Right now, I want to talk to you about the necklace, alright?" He smiled when the little boy nodded. "Excellent! Now, do you still have it with you?" He sighed as James shook his head vehemently. "Alright then, can you describe it to us or draw a picture of it?"

James crunched up his face in thought then slowly nodded. "I _think_ I can, Grampie, but shouldn't Dad know what it looks like?" He looked at Harry, confused.

For his part, Harry was caught flat footed and without a clue what his . . . son(And, boy, did _that_ sound weird!) was talking about. "I, um . . . I only just got it and I haven't, uh . . . I haven't really looked at it?"

James seem to consider this for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, Dad. You want me to draw it now, Grampie?"

Arthur smiled at him and gestured for Bill to find some parchment, quill and ink. "Yes, James, I do. And thank you. Why don't you come over here and sit so you can work on your drawing, alright?" He conjured a child sized table and chair waved at it. James looked up at Ginny, unsure of what do to, but when she nodded, he scrambled to his feet and did as his grandfather asked.

Lily watched as her brother obeyed but she was confused. Why did he need to draw anything when . . . she turned a little and whispered to her father. "Daddy? Jamie still had your necklace just before Grampie and Uncle Bill came in here. Why does he have to draw it when he still has it?"

Harry stared at the girl for a second, then faced his son. "James? Is your sister right? Do you still have the necklace?"

James shook his head quickly. "No, Dad, I don't have it anymore, see?" He turned his pockets inside out.

Harry accepted James' word, but Ginny's eyes narrowed. "James," she said, her voice sounding strict and, to Harry's surprise, a lot like Molly's. "Did you hide your father's necklace when Dad and Bill came in? Is it in this room right now?" James blushed a bit and looked down, but otherwise didn't answer. Sternly, Ginny said, "James, get the necklace and give it to Bill. Now."

Slowly, the little boy shuffled over to the fireplace, then reached down and behind a coal scuttle. As his hand came back into view, everyone saw a chain dangling there with a largish pendant hanging from in. It was shaped sort of like a very fancy shield(a heater shield Harry's half remembered history lessons whispered) cast in gold, with what looked like a stylized bird of some kind surrounded by a blue material. It was hanging from a heavy looking gold link chain and flashed in a beam of sunlight lancing into the room. Harry thought he might have seen something like it somewhere, but wasn't certain, so he nodded toward Bill.

James complied, handing over the piece of strange jewelry, and, once Bill thanked him, he ran back over and sat down with Ginny, trying very hard to radiant innocence and obedience. Ginny rolled her eyes a bit, but still curled one arm around the boy loosely.

Bill studied the pendant closely, running his wand cautiously over it in a diagnostic spell he normally used for booby-trapped tombs. Finding nothing that way, he tried another spell, then another, totally absorbed in what he was doing. A soft sound of satisfaction drifted up from him as a revealing spell caused runes to appear on the back of the pendant, then a little growl of frustration as he realized he couldn't read any of them.

Across the room, Rose watched everything from the safety of her father's lap and slowly, she calmed down, allowing her to begin to process what had happened to her and her cousins so far. She might have had her father's temperament most of the time, but, even at five, she was already showing signs that she had more than inherited her mother's formidable intellect. Carefully, she observed everyone in the room, even looking up at her father for several seconds. Frowning, she repeated the process, then crawled out of Ron's lap, causing him to look down, startled to find his arm had been around the little girl and his hand tingling from where he'd been stroking her hair. Quickly, the little redhead crawled into Hermione's lap, sitting there so she could turn and face the room or her mother, whichever she needed. "Mummy, can I ask a question?"

Hermione looked down at the urchin ensconced on her lap and smiled at her gently. She had never really given serious thought to being a mother, since that would normally be years away. But now, seeing this beautiful little girl, one who seemed to be such a perfect blend of her and Ron, she found she loved the idea and wasn't sure she could wait until they had her for real. Combing her fingers through Rose's hair and brushing it off her forehead, Hermione replied, "It's _may_ I ask a question, and yes, Sweetie, you may."

Rose started to roll her eyes, exactly like Ron normally did when she corrected him, but stopped herself in time. "Okay, I'll 'member, but, where are Uncle Bill's scratches? And why isn't Daddy bigger?"

"Bigger?" Hermione frowned slightly, then realized what Rose meant. Ron was going to get taller? How much taller? He was second only to Bill now!

Rose nodded and leaned over toward Ron. "Last time I sat in Daddy's lap, I only reached up to here," she touched Ron at a point about a third of the way up his ribcage. "This time . . ." She scrambled back onto Ron's lap and lay against him, her head resting neatly on the lower part of his shoulder.

Hermione watched Rose's demonstration and nodded absently, one part of her mind on the girl's words, one part of the thought that Ron was going to be an absolutely _huge_ man and the rest on how to explain to the little girl, as well as the other two nearby, that they had travelled into the past. That led to the question of just how _far_ into the past had they come?

Smiling reassuringly at her daughter, Hermione took a little hand in her own. "Rose, Sweetie, I need to ask you a couple things, okay? They may seem weird, but I promise, I wouldn't ask if I didn't need to know the answers. Do you understand?"

Rose smiled and nodded. "'Course I understand, Mummy. Daddy's always saying I got your brains and that he's glad."

Hermione blushed at that, carefully not looking at Ron. She wasn't sure how to deal with that rather backhanded compliment from him. Or from the future him, really. Or however that worked out. "That . . . that's good, honey. Okay, then have Ron or I ever told you stories of our third year at Hogwarts? Especially mine?"

Rose looked like she was concentrating hard, then slowly shook her head, her red curls bouncing slightly. "No, Mummy. Only that that's when you met Teddy's daddy."

"Teddy?" Ron spoke for the first time, a growl in his voice. Hermione recognized it as the same sort of growl he got when talk turned to Ginny and dating. "Who the . . ." He stopped at a fierce glare from Hermione. "Who's this Teddy bloke?"

Hermione turned a cross look on Ron, demanding harshly, "Oh, _honestly_ Ron! I think she's a little young for you to be worried about having to beat off hordes of boys, don't you?" Ignoring Ron's grumble of "No.", she turned back to the little girl in his lap. "Rose, who's Teddy?"

Rose stared at her mother in confusion. " _You_ know Teddy Lupin, Mummy! We call him our cousin, but he's really not."

Lily, who had been listening in rather shamelessly, leaned over and added, "Yeah, Aunt 'Mione. You know Teddy. You were helping him with his transfig . . . transfig . . ." Lily's face screwed up in an expression of annoyance.

"Transfiguration?" Hermione offered.

"Yeah!" Lily smiled at her. "You helped him with that last summer. You remember, right, cause it was just after that when Hogwarts wanted you to come teach the same thing."

Harry had been listening with half an ear and now he smiled a little at the stunned expression on Hermione's face. Shaking his head a bit, he couldn't figure out why she was so suprised. Even McGonagall had commented on how much of a waste it would be if Hermione didn't eventually return to Hogwarts as a teacher.

Patting her mother's arm, Rose asked, "Mummy? Are you alright?" She was worried since she'd never seen her mother so shocked and speechless.

Absently, Hermione nodded, most of her mind on the thought of Hogwarts wanting her as a professor. Rose's tightened grip in her arm caused her to look down. Seeing the scared look on her little girl's face, Hermione pushed all the thoughts that Lily's casual comment had caused from her head and forced a smile onto her face. "I'm fine, Rose, just a little startled. Now," She paused and pressed a kiss to the girl's forehead, trying to reassure her that all was well. "The reason I asked if I'd talked about my third year was because I had a special necklace that year. It was called a Time-Turner and it would let me go backwards in time. Do you understand?"

Harry and Hermione watched as Rose thought hard about what her mother was telling her, though Harry had to supress a laugh. Leaning around Lily, he whispered in Hermione's ear, "She looks just like Ron does when he's trying to figure out one of your leaps of logic." The raven haired teen laughed and ducked back as Hermione blushed crimson and slapped at his shoulder.

Rose ignored them both as she thought about what her mother was telling her. It seemed like she could almost figure it out, then it would slip through her fingers and be gone. Just as it seemed like she might be finally understanding what her mother was telling her, Lily got there first.

"Is that what Daddy's necklace is, Aunt 'Mione? One of those Time-Tuner things?"

Hermione smiled at her niece, then hugged Rose when she spotted the petulant scowl the smaller girl gave her cousin. "I'm not sure, Lily, but it could be a kind of Time- _Turner_. What's the year right now?"

Lily and Rose looked at each other, identical looks of confusion on their faces. Finally, Lily shrugged and said, "It's 2010, Aunt 'Mione. Did you forget?"

Ignoring Lily's question, Hermione persisted. "And when is your birthday?"

Lily looked shocked for a second, then bewildered. "Don't you remember when Jamie and me were born, Aunt 'Mione?" Before Hermione could answer, she looked up into identical eyes and pouted. "You remember when our birthday is, don't you Daddy?"

Harry looked at Hermione, then Ginny(who had her own problems as James looked expectantly at her with a wide eyed/hurt look as she didn't immediately respond) helplessly. Before he could even try to come up with a reply that would satisfy the little girl, Rose spoke up. "You didn't forget my birthday, did you, Mummy?"

Hermione felt her heart break a little as she gazed down into trusting blue eyes, Ron's eyes, and shook her head a little. As tears began to well up, she rushed to explain. "Hey, don't cry, either of you." She combed her fingers through her daughter's hair. "Remember how I said I had a necklace that let me go back in time a little bit?"

Rose and Lily both nodded, then the older girl asked, "Is that what happened, Aunt 'Mione?"

Hermione smiled encouragingly. "That's it exactly. See, for the three of you, it's 2010 but, for the rest of us here, it's 1995, understand?" She watched as all three children absorbed the information. "So, see? It's not that we forgot your birthdays, it's just that they haven't happened for us yet."

All three children calmed a little, then James smirked. "We went back in time? That's so cool!"

Harry laughed at his son's reaction, thinking he would probably say the same thing in the same situation. Ginny and Hermione, though, shared a look that simply said, _Boys!_ then both rolled their eyes. When Lily scrunched up her eyes and declared "Boys are so weird!"(Rose nodded her head vigorously in agreement), both teens started giggling, then laughing out loud at James' expression of disgust with his sister and Harry's chagrin.

Getting control of herself, Hermione smiled at both girls, asking, "So, will you all tell me when your birthdays are, now? Please?"

Lily responded first. "Well, _I'm_ oldest, 'cause I was born before Jamie was, but our birthday is 27 June and we were born in 2004."

"And _my_ birthday," Rose interrupted, glowering at her cousin slightly, "is 11 August in 2005. Aunt Ginny always says I was the best birthday present you and Daddy ever got her!" Rose smiled shyly at Ginny as she relayed this.

Ginny smiled at that and nodded. "Yeah, I'd have to agree with that. A beautiful niece to spoil?" She grinned wickedly at Hermione. "Best present ever!"

Hermione tried to maintain an expression of disdain, but quickly ended up smiling instead. Before she could say anything else, though, a small noise of complaint sounded from her daughter's abdomen and she looked concerned. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

Rose nodded, then stuck her tongue out at Lily's giggle before saying, "I'm okay, Mummy, but can I have a biscuit, please? My tummy's all empty."

Molly Weasley heard her granddaughter's words and swiftly stood. "Oh, I should have thought of that!" She sounded a little put out with herself, but she smiled at her grandbabies. "Of course you can have a biscuit, Rose, but how about a sandwich first? James, Lily? Would you like a sandwich and some biscuits too?"

All three children smiled and scrambled to their feet to follow their grandmother to the kitchen. Lily stopped and looked at her parents with seeming indecision. "Is it okay, Mum?"

Ginny smiled and nodded, adding, "You better hurry and make sure Jamie doesn't eat them all."

Lily giggled. "You always say that, Mum!"

Harry laughed at that and gestured for the little girl to run along to the kitchen. Once she was gone, he looked at Ginny, his eyes quickly noting the similarities to Lily. How had he missed "little" Ginny Weasley growing into such a gorgeous young woman? More importantly, why hadn't he ever thought about it before? Sure, she was his best mate's little sister, but Ron had hinted on more than one occasion that, while he didn't want _any_ boys around his sister, Harry was the only one he didn't have a real problem with. To be honest, Harry felt more or less the same way about Hermione, though he hoped he was better about it than Ron. And yeah, he had, just that morning before his . . . children (he blushed at the thought) had appeared, thought that Ginny was very pretty, but that hadn't meant anything.

Had it?

Harry realized, as Ginny blushed, that he was staring and looked away quickly. "I think . . . I think we need to talk, don't you?" He glanced up and noticed the unholy glee in the eyes of the twins and added, "Maybe outside?" He smiled ever so slightly at Ginny firm nod. "Just us or us, Ron and Hermione?"

Ginny glanced at her youngest brother and her best friend and shook her head. "I think they have their own things to talk about, don't you?" She grinned a little at Ron's ears turning red again and the pink creeping across Hermione's cheeks. "But, yeah, I think we should probably talk. Shall we?"

Harry nodded and jumped to his feet, automatically extending a hand to help Ginny to hers. She smiled at the courtesy and allowed it. He smiled back, noticing how Ginny's smile made her eyes glow a bit. _[How is it I've never noticed how nice her eyes are?]_ he thought. "You two coming?" he asked, wrenching his eyes from the redhead beside him to Ron and Hermione. Both teens flushed harder and surged to their feet, Hermione not waiting to see if Ron would emulate Harry.

Seeing the twins studied disinterest, a sure sign they were watching and listening to everything, Ginny suggested, "Let's go up to the paddock. That way, we can talk and see if anyone," she looked pointedly at Fred and George, "is trying to overhear before we're ready to talk to the others." She scoffed at the innocent expressions the twins were sporting.

"That's a good idea," Hermione agreed, Ron nodding as well.

"Sounds good to me." Harry held out one hand, indicating the others should preceed him from the room.

As they walked through the kitchen, they all had to smile at the sight of Molly Weasley in her element. She was making sandwiches at a steady pace while smiling and laughing at the stories the children were telling her. James, seeing his parents enter the room, jumped up and ran to Harry. "Daddy, can we go flying after lunch? Please?" 

Harry looked down into those big, hopeful brown eyes and had no real idea what to say for a second, then he smiled a bit and ruffled James' hair. "We'll see, mate. Go finish your lunch and make sure you mind your grandmum, alright?"

The smaller copy of Harry rolled his eyes, but obediently trotted back to the table and Harry couldn't help but notice the broad, happy smile Molly gave him when he called her 'grandmum'. He smiled in return and followed his friends, chuckling softly as Hermione dragged Ron out the door, her voice holding a familiar scolding quality as she told him, "Ronald Weasley, we just finished eating lunch! You can _not_ still be hungry and besides, those are for the children! I swear, all you ever think about is food and quidditch and I don't know . . ." Her voice faded as the two teens quickly pulled ahead of Harry, Ron starting to gesture as he answered her, their bickering restarting in earnest.

Ginny stood grinning at him as he caught up with her. Harry rolled his eyes, but returned her mischievously smile as they followed after their arguing friends. Harry started to walk a bit faster, obviously intending to catch up to Ron and Hermione, but Ginny lightly grasped his arm, holding him back.

"Let's let them be alone for a few minutes, yeah?"

Harry slowed again and looked at Ginny, a thoughtful expression sliding across his face before he nodded. "Yeah, alright." He glanced around and pointed to an old oak tree. "Want to sit there and talk about . . . um . . . what we . . . I mean . . ."

Ginny enjoyed watching Harry squirm for a moment, then took pity on him. "I'd love to. C'mon, then." She gave him a small teasing smile, then turned and walked toward the tree. With a sheepish grin, Harry followed her, determinedly trying to keep his eyes off her swaying bum.

 

Chapter 2

Harry half turned and watched as Hermione led Ginny off a little ways before the girls sat down and started talking. Trying his hardest, he still couldn't make out even the least sound from them, so he turned to Ron as the taller boy plopped down in front of him. "Did you guys talk, too?" Ron's ears were practically glowing, but he nodded. "Did you finally tell her that you like her?" Harry teased.

Ron started to deny it, just as he had been for years, but his shoulders slumped as he realized it was useless. "Kinda hard to deny it, id'n't, mate? I mean, when a little girl pops up lookin' like a near perfect cross of the two of you and starts calling you mummy and daddy, it's just not all that easy to say, 'Well, no, I don't like you like that and I don't know what's going on.'"

Harry had to grin a little at Ron's words and tone, then it slid from his face as he once more twisted around and glanced at Ginny. "Actually," he said, "it's not as hard as you think."

Ron looked a little confused, then he looked over Harry's shoulder to where the girls were. "So what, you told Ginny you didn't like her that way?"

Harry had to chuckle at Ron's mixture of happiness and chagrin as he asked this. "Sorta." He turned and looked his oldest friend in the eyes, though a faint blush stole across his cheeks. "I told her yes, I had noticed that she's become a very pretty girl, beautiful even, but I hadn't really considered her as someone I'd want to date. I told her that I think of her as one of my best friends, after you and Hermione, of course, and my best mate's sister and that I think she's a great person, but, before today, I had just never thought of asking her to go out with me."

Ron's head snapped up and his eyes bore into Harry for a few seconds. "And now? You've changed your mind or something?"

Harry chuckled again and half turned to look at the girls a few dozen metres away. "Like you said, it's kinda hard not to at least think about it after you meet your future children. Besides, Lily is a carbon copy of Ginny with my eyes and, maybe it's a father's pride or something, but I think she's absolutely beautiful. Since I think Lily is so gorgeous and she's a near perfect copy of her mother, it's really hard to think of Ginny as plain or ugly or something, don't you think?" His eyes found Ginny's and she blushed lightly, but still smiled a bit as well before turning back to her conversation with Hermione.

Ron frowned a little as he thought his way through Harry's logic and finally decided what Harry had said boiled down to; 'Yes, I think your sister's pretty and I think I want to go out with her now'. He felt another tug of combined elation/irritation at the idea, then everything Harry had said filtered through his mind again, though this time, he substituted Lily's name with Rose and Ginny with Hermione.

Harry turned his eyes back to his best friend as Ron snorted softly. "What?"

Ron started, then looked at Harry as though just noticing he was there. "Oh. Um, I was just thinking about what you said about Lily looking so much like Ginny, so you can't help thinking Ginny's pretty." He trailed off and turned to look over at the girls himself. "I was thinking about Rose. For some weird reason, I've always wondered what Hermione would look like with red hair. I mean, I like her hair like it is and you'd think I get enough of red hair with this lot, but I do and Rose is just that." He turned back to Harry and their eyes locked. "She's 'Mione with my hair and eyes and that's when I realized she's mine. Mine and Hermione's and that I really do like her like that."

Harry's bark of laughter came out a little strangled, then he released it fully as Ron looked at him with anger starting to cloud his face. "Sorry! Sorry. It's just . . . Ron, aside from Hermione, you are the best friend I've ever had but I could've told you that you liked Hermione like that over two years ago!"

"Why didn't you, then?"

Harry just stared at the redheaded boy and raised an eyebrow. "And you'd have believed me because . . .?" Ron just scowled and swatted at Harry, who dodged backwards a little, laughing at his friend. "Besides, I _did_ try to tell you, remember? I told you you should ask her to the Yule Ball last Christmas but you looked at me like I was mental, so I shut up about it. Then Krum asked her and you ended up being the one who was acting like a jealous prat."

Ron automatically scowled at the mention of Krum's name, but he still blushed a little, his ear tips glowing once more as he remembered how he'd acted, both during the Yule Ball and after. And, to be honest, everytime since then whenever the Bulgarian's name was brought up.

The redheaded teen looked sideways at Harry and decided that since today seemed to be a day for admitting painful truths, he might as well come clean about another one. Looking down at the ground again, Ron started tearing up little tufts of grass as he fought to put his thoughts into coherent sentences. "You know, I was starting to think maybe you wanted to date Hermione." Ron risked a glance up and took in Harry's confused expression. "I mean . . . Well, up until you started making noises about Cho, the only two girls you ever talked to or about were Hermione and sometimes Ginny, so, y'know, I just thought . . . I mean, you and her have hugged a buncha times, so I just thought . . . I mean, I wondered . . ." He trailed off with a shrug, embarrassed with all this talk about feelings and stuff.

Harry just started at him for a few seconds, then quickly looked at the ground, shakling his head. He was trying to fight the laugh that tried to bubble up in him from Ron's misreading of his and Hermione's relationship and if he looked at Ron right then, he'd lose it. Giving it a little thought, Harry quickly came up with a way to explain it to his best mate, hopefully in a way that would forever settle this question between them. "You thought I wanted to go out with Hermione? Tell me, Ron, just how long have you wanted to go out on a date with Ginny?"

Ron's head snapped up at that, a queasy expression quickly taking dominance on his face. "Me? A-and _Ginny_?!? Merlin, Harry, that's _sick_! She's my sister! How could you think . . . _Ugh_! That's just so gross!"

Harry let Ron rant for another moment or so, then he nudged the disgusted redhead to silence him. "Ron, I know you don't want to date your sister, but, d'you see, now? That's how I feel about Hermione and me being together like that. Like I'd be dating my sister. Do you understand?" He sighed and looked down for a second, then back up. "Look, I love Hermione and I will till my dying day but I could no more date her than you could Ginny and for the same reasons. If you want to ask her out, go for it, but remember," his green eyes turned hard and implacable. "You hurt my sister and you'll find out why Voldemort is afraid of me."

Ron's eyes widened at Harry's words and he felt a shiver race down his spine at his friend's never before seen threatening attitude and the aura of menace surrounding the usually kind hearted boy. For a second, he was truly scared of Harry, then he realized it was just Harry's version of his own 'hurt my sister and die' speech. He smiled in relief. "Hey, that wasn't too bad, Harry! You really had me scared there for a few seconds, but even if she's mental enough to agree to go out with me, I couldn't hurt her if I wanted to." His mind tossed up images of a few of their more vicious arguments and he flushed a bit. "Well, not on purpose, anyway. And hey, if you and Ginny do get together, you know I'll hex the bits off you or die trying if you hurt her, right?"

Harry returned Ron's serious look with a solemn one as he nodded gravely, each boy understanding the other perfectly. Then he broke out in a grin, looking back over at the girls. "You know, all this threatening might be a necessary thing for us blokes to do, but do you honestly think the girls won't kill us before either of us can do anything?"

Ron glanced over at the girls and snorted. "Ever seen Ginny when she's really mad?"

Harry rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Ron, I _was_ there for her birthday last summer, y'know."

The tall redheaded boy shuddered as he recalled what Harry was talking about. The twins had thought it was a good idea to prank and embarrass Ginny on her birthday. They'd apologized and admitted they'd been wrong 3 hours later when Bill had finally managed to dispell the bat-bogeys. Ginny had flat refused, even under Molly's most dire threats of punishment. Ron was sure he'd seen bat-bogeys escaping from the legs of the twin's trousers as well as their noses, and, after thinking about that for a few minutes(and Hermione whispering in his ear), the youngest Weasley boy winced at where he imagined the secondary bat-bogeys were coming from. It would explain why they'd walked so gingerly(no pun intended) the rest of the evening. Come to think of it, he didn't think the twins had pranked Ginny again since that day, which he thought was the smartest thing they'd ever done(aside from the dragon dung they'd owled Percy).

Ron shuddered again at the memory, slowly nodding his head. "Yeah, the was a bad one. I'm not sure I've _ever_ seen her that mad!" He was silent for a few seconds, then he smiled reminiscently. "Hey, remember that time in third year Malfoy really hacked 'Mione off and she broke his nose? That was the sweetest punch I've ever seen," he declared proudly.

Harry laughed and nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty good. Malfoy didn't bug us for over a month after that." Harry's smile turned to a smirk. "Of course, I think she was even madder at you after the Yule Ball."

Ron scowled at his dark haired friend. "You just had to bring that up, didn't you? I apologized for that a buncha times now to both of you, so can we just drop it? Besides, I got other reasons to hate Vicky now, even if he's not a Death Eater wannabe."

Harry sighed and shook his head a little. "Okay, first, you _gotta_ stop calling him 'Vicky'. Even if Hermione doesn't like him as anything but a friend, he still _is_ her friend, so you should call him by his name, even if it's just for her. The second thing is, they're the same reasons as before, not different and third, you liked Victor when we saw him at the World Cup last summer, enough to buy that toy of him anyway and it seems like I remember the twins teasing you about 'liking' him."

Ron just rolled his eyes and gave a look of distaste. "He wasn't trying to steal my girl last summer."

Harry laughed at that, nodding his head. "Yeah, well, that's kinda true, even though she wasn't technically 'your girl' until about half an hour ago. Assuming you actually managed to ask her to be your girlfriend, that is."

Ron once more scowled at the smirking wizard across from him. Movement over Harry's shoulder caused his eyes to flick up and he saw a perfect chance to get even with Harry for all his cracks about Victor Bloody Krum. "Hey Harry? You really think of Hermione as your sister?" His eyes twinkled at the brunette standing behind his male best friend as she froze, her jaw dropping open. She had told him when they'd talked that she thought of Harry as her younger brother, but she wasn't sure if he felt the same way.

Harry gave Ron a puzzled look at his question. Hadn't they covered this already? Shrugging, he replied, "Ron, I already told you I do. Let me make it plainer, okay? The only way Hermione could be more of a sister to me is if we'd had the same mother. Does that make it cl . . . ACK!!"

He was interrupted by a loud squeal behind him as he was tackled in a hug and he suddenly found he had breathing problems. Merlin! He wasn't sure Mrs. Weasley had ever hugged him this tightly. "'Mione . . . can't . . . air . . ." Harry managed to croak out. He turned pleading eyes on the two laughing redheads as the edges of his vision turned a little grey.

Finally, Ginny took pity on him as she leaned down and lightly tapped the back of Hermione's head. "Hermione? I kinda need him alive in seven or eight years, so could you not choke him to death, please?"

* * *

My original plan for this one was to "steal" the Phoenix Gate from Gargoyles, make it large-ish pendant sized, and use it for the back and forth of the time travel. Of course, Harry and probably Bill would need to come back and erase memories after the kids got back home. All in all, it was shaping up to be only a little different from the others in the challenge. Mostly in that I included Rose in the travel and gave Bill a chance to "save the day" by showing off his curse breaking skills, deciphering the runes on the pendant to see how it works, then sending the kids home.

If anyone wants to play with this, feel free. As I said in the notes at the top, the original Challenge was from mid-2008 on Sink Into Your Eyes, a Harry/Ginny shipper's site. Several of the stories from the challenge were good, particularly _Not Going Back to the Future: The Twins Arrive_ by Duelist. Although it was never finished, it came to a good conclusion.


	4. Chapter 03 - Call My Name(BtVS)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A phone call and a "dream" forces Buffy to confronts things she wants to keep buried. Inspired by Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to the song Bring Me To Life when it suddenly occurred to me that it could be Faith singing Amy Lee's parts. Next thing I know, a plot bunny the size of a bus is running around my head and messing with me.

Disclaimer: All of the materials borrowed from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel belong to Joss Whedon and to the entities and companies associated with their creation. I have borrowed them for creative and entertainment purposes only. No compensation has been or ever shall be received for the writing below. The lyrics and melody to "Bring Me To Life" are copyright Evanescence. No copyright infringement is intended.

Spoilers: Show's been off the air since May of 2003. Can they still be considered spoilers?

Author's Note on Dawn: Dawn exists in this story(and most of mine) because I really liked the idea Vogonguard came up with for his/her(not sure which) story, "Just One Night"( on Mystic Muse) for her creation/existence. Basically, the monks of Dagon didn't implant memories per se; they sent a spell back through time and caused a pregnancy of Joyce's that was supposed to fail to happen successfully, then pressed the Key into the resulting baby. Nine months later, they got Dawn. All the memories of her seem real because they *are* real, it was just that that fourteen years of history happened twice.

Acknowledgments: The main thing here is a massive thank you to Willowfan. Without you, B, I wouldn't still be writing. I'd also probably be a lot crazier. ^_^

Feedback: Yes, please. Any type you wanna send. Can't fix what I don't know is broken, right?

Summary: Early-mid fourth season. Inspired by the song Bring Me To Life

* * *

Chapter 1

_[This is the way it's supposed to be. No apocalypses, nothing to Slay, nothing to research, just me, the sofa and my veggie-like feelings.]_ Buffy Summers took a deep breath and sighed in contentment as these words echoed through her head. She was currently sitting/laying on the sofa in her mother's house, comfortably slouching and trying her best to think of nothing. Not Slaying, not that asshole Parker, not her uncomfortable, yet strangely familiar feelings for one Mr. Riley Finn, not her friends. Nothing.

A slight pang went through her as Willow's face flashed through her mind. Well, maybe she could spare a thought for her favorite red headed witch. After all, it had only been a month or so since Oz had left and Willow was still hurting from that, although Buffy had noticed that Willow had improved lately, not been as mopey. Been more like her old self, really. The blonde smiled a little, just to herself. Maybe Will had met a new guy and she was entering into the somewhat painful, but _so_ much fun getting-to-know-you stage with someone. Now that she thought about it, her mood had seemed to start changing just after all that crap with the Gentlemen. Right about the time that her own mood had started going totally wonky, really.

_[What's _with_ that, anyway?]_ she thought acerbically. _[Is there some cosmic rule that says only two Scoobies can be happy at a time? Xander's been mostly happy since he and Anya hooked up and God, did I really just think that?]_ She shook her head and forced her thoughts back to where she wanted them. _[Giles has been quasi-miserable since Ms Calender died...]_ That brought a familiar guilty feeling rushing in, but she shook it off. It was ground she'd covered many times in the nearly two years since it had happened. Ground she knew so well, she could tell exactly where in the guilt trip she was by the scenery going by the window of her little mental tour bus. _[Will and I keep trading off. She was happy with Oz and I had that mess with Angel, then the great 'get some, get gone' crap with jerky Parker...]_ Her mental tirade ground to a halt as soon as the phrase, 'get some, get gone' passed through her head.

That phrase struck so many memories as it went through, all of them starring a beautiful, moderately buxom brunette. _[Faith...]_ The name echoed unwillingly, yet with an unmistakable "air" of wistfulness. Again, she shook her head, trying to clear her errant thoughts, yet this time, her mind was much slower to cooperate. It insisted on showing her memories of all the times she and Faith went Slaying together, just patrolling together, trained together, danced together, killed someone together...

_[Whoa! Where the hell did that come from? _Faith_ killed that guy, not me! She's the one who had the stake in her hand, not me!]_ Even as the denial rang through her, she felt a smidgen of doubt creep in. She'd been there after all, Faith hadn't been alone.

_[She's still the one who killed him,]_ she stubbornly thought.

_**{And if he'd been on the other side of the alley? I would've staked him, not her.}** _

Buffy growled softly, getting angry with... well, her own subconscious, her own sense of fair play and honesty. _[He wasn't on the other side, he was on the side where her stake was. Faith killed the guy not me. Just 'cause I happened to be there doesn't mean it was in any way _my_ fault!]_

There was a pause, then the little voice that was her conscience asked softly, _**{If it wasn't any of my fault, then why did I feel so guilty for months after? Why do I still feel guilty? Guilty that he's dead, that I didn't stop her in time, that I didn't help her deal with things?}**_ The last part was "said" in the barest whisper.

A frown marred the beautiful features of the Slayer as she still fought truths she didn't like, but, mercifully perhaps, the universe dropped two distractions on her at that point. The first came in the form of the front door slamming closed and the second was the sound of the phone ringing. The ringing cut off abruptly, telling the blonde that her mother had answered it while the appearance of a small brunette answered who slammed the door.

Dawn's eyes lit up in pleasure at seeing her sister for the first time in a couple weeks, but only for a split second before she forced her expression into one of cool disdain. "Why are you here?" she demanded. "I mean, you moved out, so shouldn't you be, like, somewhere else? Somewhere not here?"

Buffy scowled at the much younger teen. "I still live here, you know. Well, part of the time, anyway," she carefully amended. "And that means I can be here if I want to, so _mnya_..." She stuck her tongue out at her sister in a childish display that actually managed to lighten her mood. A little, anyway.

The universe took notice, unfortunately.

"Buffy," Joyce walked in from the kitchen and the blonde teen's eyes snapped to her, her face paling a little at her mother's serious expression. "It's for you, a nurse from the hospital."

The Slayer blanched, her imagination started running, picking up speed as scenarios began to flicker through her mind. True, it was still daylight, but it _was_ late-ish in the day with plenty of shadows where vamps and demons could hide and all she could think of was that something evil had caught one of her friends and they were now fighting for their lives. Standing quickly, Buffy darted over and almost snatched the phone from Joyce's hand before raising it her her face, the barest tremor in her hand as she did so. "H-hello? Yes, that's me. What?! Who did you say? Oh. Yes, I know Faith Spenser and yeah, I guess it is my name listed to be contacted. Does this mean she woke up?" The blonde wasn't sure how she felt about that, if it was true. She knew that there was a better than even chance that Faith would wake up and want to start being all evil again and she wasn't sure she would be able to go after her again the way she did last time. The knowledge that Faith was, Slayer or not, still human meant she couldn't just go kill her and, if Faith was still evil and crazy, that was what it would take to stop her.

"Uh huh. Oh. I see." The other two Summers women could tell nothing from the way Buffy's expression tightened down even further as she locked her feelings and emotions away and became the Slayer. "Well, do they have any idea how much longer?" Buffy ignored the curious looks from her mother and sibling. "Okay, then please call me back when she dies..." A sharp, tinny voice was heard indistinctly by the other two Summers women. "Okay, yeah, if you want to, go ahead and call me if she wakes up instead, but you just said that that wasn't gonna happen." Buffy rolled her eyes. "Okay, isn't _likely_ to happen. Whatever. Goodbye." She pressed the 'end' button and walked passed her mother to replace the phone on it's charger.

As she walked back into the living room, intent on nothing more than resuming her vegetable-like state until time to patrol, she caught the look Joyce gave her and stopped. "What?" she asked, her tone faintly defensive.

Joyce gave her eldest a carefully neutral look. "I take it Faith isn't doing well?" Without thought, she put her arm around Dawn and pulled the girl closer to her in a hug. She knew Dawn had liked Faith when she first got her and had refused to believe that she was really bad when Buffy had told them what was going on.

"If you can call finally kicking the bucket not doing well, then yeah," she replied diffidently, then her nose scrunched up. "What does that mean, anyway? I mean, if you're dead, you can't just get up and start kicking buckets, right? Does that mean you're supposed to kick one then drop dead or is someone supposed to kick a bucket and hit you after you're dead or what? It's really confusing, like a lot of those old sayings and I..." She stopped and looked at the angry look on her sister's face and the exasperated one on her mother's. "What?"

Joyce just looked at her for a moment, then shook her head, well used to Buffy's sometimes rambling digressions during conversations. Both of her girls, if she was honest, though Buffy was far worse for it than Dawn. "Do you need a ride to the hospital so you can see Faith? If something does happen, it might be your last chance, Buffy." She automatically reached out to snag her purse with her free hand.

Buffy looked confused again, but it was quickly replaced with anger. "Why would I want to go see her now? I haven't seen her since the night I put her in there and I have no intention of seeing her again this side of a funeral home." The blonde turned and started toward the stairs, ignoring the hateful look she was getting from Dawn just as much as the incredulous one from her mother.

"Buffy! Honey, you really should go see her and make your peace with her. If you don't, you'll hate yourself and I don't want that to happen."

The Slayer stopped and turned back to fix Joyce with a baleful stare. "I made my peace with her seven months ago when I went to kill her. If she wasn't so stubborn, she'd have died that night, so now? Now I just want her to hurry it up and die already so the next Slayer can be called and maybe I can get some help I can rely on for a change!" With that, Buffy charged up the stairs, the echo from her door slamming sounding loudly, even in the living room.

Joyce stood there for several minutes feeling disappointed in her oldest child. She was sure she'd raised her to be more forgiving than that but knew better than to try to push Buffy any further right then. Buffy was as stubborn as her and Hank put together, with a little more thrown in for good measure, when she didn't want to do or face something, so all forcing her to talk now would get would be for her to go back to her dorm room so she wouldn't have to listen to anyone saying things she didn't want to hear.

"Mom?"

Joyce started a little, then looked at Dawn, a smile stretching her lips a little. "Yes, baby?"

Dawn looked like she was still angry with her sister, but also like she was trying to not be scared. "Could you take me to the hospital? I... I want to see Faith, tell her that I miss her and want her to wake up." She looked down and blushed faintly. "I go see her sometimes. Y'know, after school." Her head snapped up and a blazing fire shown clearly in her sky blue eyes. "It's not right that no one ever goes to see her. None of Buffy's friends have ever even walked into her room, did you know that? The nurses told me that Mr Giles came by once or twice but that was ages ago."

The young brunette stopped and took a deep breath, fighting to regain her composure. "I just... If she really is going to... going to... die," she forced the word out, "I want her to know that someone cared enough to see her one more time. To forgive her for whatever she might have done and to just sit with her so she doesn't have to be alone."

Joyce swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat and forced a smile onto her face as she reached up and lightly brushed the tears dripping from pain-filled blue eyes. "Sure, sweetie. You get your coat and I'll let Buffy know we're going out." She handed Dawn the car keys. "I'll meet you in the car in a few minutes, okay?"

Dawn smiled and hugged her mother quickly. "Thank you Mom! I knew you'd understand." Dawn pulled away and took the set of keys from Joyce's outstretched hand and almost ran for the front door.

Joyce let the smile drop from her face as she took a deep breath before heading upstairs. Stopping in front of Buffy's room, she knocked on the door, then pushed it open enough to stick her head inside. "Buffy?" She saw Buffy lying on the bed staring at the ceiling, the anger she'd shown downstairs still twisting her normally pretty features. Pushing the door open, the older blonde stepped inside. "Buffy, Dawn and I are going out for a little while. Will you still be here when we get back?"

Buffy shrugged her shoulders but said nothing. Joyce sighed and nodded, then turned to leave. "I heard what you guys were talking about. Did you know Faith threatened to kill you both? Well, actually, she said she was going to rape Dawn first because, how did she put it? Oh, yeah. She said 'Nobody should die without losing their cherry first.'" Buffy turned her head and gave Joyce a scornful look. "Still think Dawn should be around her? That she's really a good person underneath? That she's just misunderstood?"

Her daughter's words chilled her to the bone, especially since she knew Buffy wouldn't make something like that up just out of spite. Still, that was a long time ago and Faith was in a coma and not expected to live, from what she'd heard. It wasn't like she had to worry about than now. "I think Faith was a teenage girl that had too much responsibility thrust onto her. I think that when things fell apart on her, she had no idea how to deal with it and, unlike you, no one she felt she could turn to for help. I also think that I can't worry about an idle threat she made months ago. Right now, I have to worry about a daughter who wants to go see her friend one more time before she dies. A friend that she once told me she thought of as another, much 'cooler' sister." Joyce tried to ignore the hurt look that crossed Buffy's eyes. "But mostly, I'm taking Dawn to the hospital because no one, no matter what they may or may not have done, _no one_ should die alone, Buffy. I know I taught you that, but you're too angry right now to remember. Trust me, go see Faith before something happens. If you don't, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." With that, she stepped back and closed the door with a quiet snap.

Buffy fought the feelings her mother's words stirred up within her, fought them as hard as any demon she'd ever faced, but still they eluded her attempts to control them. Just when she thought she'd won, a stray thought echoed through the deepest recesses of her mind. _**{I died alone.}**_

She shuddered at the matter of factness of the statement, immediately disputing it with, _[No, I didn't. Xander and Angel both were with me.]_

_**{They were there when I came back,}**_ the part of her mind playing devil's advocate replied. _**{If Xander or Angel had been there when I died, they wouldn't have let me die in the first place.}**_

The blonde had no answer for that, simply because he knew that the nagging little voice was right. If either Xander or Angel had gotten there before she'd drowned, they wouldn't have let it happen. _[...That doesn't matter. Like I told Mom, I already said goodbye to Faith and I don't want to see her ever again, so I have no idea why I'm even arguing with myself over this!]_

There was quiet for a moment, then the voice quietly said, _**{I never said goodbye to her. I kissed her forehead as a thank you for telling me how to beat the Mayor. Hell, I almost forgave her for everything because she did!}**_ Before Buffy could consciously process that or begin to offer a counter to it, more words echoed through her mind. _**{She's a Slayer and she wasn't dead, so I knew I'd see her again. Why would I say goodbye if I thought she'd wake up?}**_

With a growl, Buffy leaped off her bed and began stripping off the brightly colored clothing she'd worn to classes that day, pulling what she thought of as her 'Slaying clothes' out of her closet. Pulling on the black jeans and tshirt, she resolutely ignored the voice telling her she needed to go to the hospital. Finally, after pulling on her boots, Buffy loaded up on stakes and strapped the specially made sword sheath across her back before pulling on a denim jacket.

Hours later, she returned to a dark house, exhausted, but still unsettled. Going around to the back door, she used an old towel she kept there for that reason to clean the demon gore off her short sword, promising herself to give it a more thorough cleaning the next day. Setting the blade aside, the blonde stripped off her jacket, wrinkling her nose at the smell of the now rapidly decaying demon blood that had mixed with copious amounts of vampire dust. She pulled a few things out of the pockets before dropping the coat, with a sigh, into the nearby trashcan. _[Damned council really needs to give Slayers a clothing allowance,]_ she grumbled to herself for the umpteenth time.

_[Ah, well. At least it isn't new or anything.]_ She remembered how she and Faith had talked about it one night, both somewhat annoyed at having lost yet another pair of jeans, with Faith having lost her shirt as well.

* *Flashback* *

"Hey, I said I was sorry, B. What the hell more you want?" The brunette Slayer followed her counterpart as the two girls headed for the high school to report in and clean up. "How the hell was I supposed to know the damned demon would explode if I cut it's head off? Besides, did you see what the fucker did to my favorite shirt?" She plucked the material beside the gaping hole the demon had ripped in her tshirt.

"Favorite shirt? Faith, you got that shirt like two days ago at the thrift store."

The brunette shrugged and grinned at her companion. "Doesn't stop it from being my favorite, 'specially when some friggin' demon rips a hole in it before I can even wash it once."

Buffy scowled and tried once more to wipe some of the demon gore from her clothing. "At least your clothes aren't new or anything. My mom just bought these jeans and now look at them!" She sighed and wiped at the side of her leather jacket, some of the ooze coming off on her hand. "At least it should wash off my jacket. Dammit!" The blonde growled at herself as she automatically wiped the demon blood on her already messed up jeans. Turning a fulminating look on Faith, she snarled out, "Go ahead and laugh! Mom paid like forty bucks for these jeans and I only got to wear them once. Now I gotta throw them away!"

Faith just shook her head and opened the side door they normally used for after hours visits to the school. "I get that you're pissed, B, but geez! Maybe I gave you too much credit, cause I thought you'd'a figured it out by now." At the blonde's angry, uncomprehending look, the brunette rolled her eyes. "Buffy, how many shirts have you thrown away after Slaying in the last couple'a months? How many pair'a jeans?" She waved her hand before Buffy could answer. "Doesn't matter. My point is, I been listenin' to you bitch about trashin' all your 'good' clothes for months now and I don't believe you ain't caught a clue yet."

"Clue? What clue?" Buffy scowled at the other Slayer, her indignation at her implied stupidity swiftly becoming replaced by anger. "No one tossed me any clues, so there wasn't one to catch, Faith. If you've got a point, make it or shut the hell up and let me get clean."

Faith shook her head at the blonde's obtuseness and opened the locker she'd claimed for herself. Rifling through the small stash of shampoo and soap and other bathing supplies she kept at the school for just such times as tonight, she glanced at Buffy, a smirk curling her full lips. "You really are blonde, ain't'cha? I always thought it was an act." She deftly caught the shoe Buffy threw at her head. "Man, you got little feet! Anyway," she said tossing the shoe back toward the bottom of Buffy's locker. "The 'clue' you didn't catch is simple. Where do I get most of the clothes I go Slayin' in? The thrift store, that's where. I mean, look at what I got on right now; The shirt cost two dollars and the jeans cost five. Yeah, I'm pissed that they're a write off now, but mostly it's 'cause they got trashed before I got any real use out of'em and now I gotta go buy more."

Buffy turned to look at the younger girl, then quickly faced the locker again, a blush coloring her cheeks. She hadn't counted on Faith having stripped completely that fast. Swallowing thickly and ignoring the funny feeling wiggling in her stomach, she asked, "So, what? You're saying I should buy my clothes at the thrift store too?"

Faith smiled at Buffy, fighting to not show how the sight of the half dressed blonde affected her. "Exactly. Well, the ones you wear for Slayin' anyway. Save your 'good' clothes for other stuff like going out and shit." The brunette turned back to her locker and grabbed her shower kit, then headed into the shower room.

A moment later, Buffy caught up and the spray started in the next stall. "I don't know, Faith. I mean, those clothes are there because someone else had them, then donated them. I don't know if I could wear something someone else wore."

Faith stopped washing her hair and turned a gimlet stare on her blonde companion. Buffy's head just topped the tile partition. "You _do_ realize the store washes all the clothes before they put them out for sale, don't'cha?" Buffy still had a little moue of distaste gracing her features and Faith rolled her eyes. "Look, Princess, if it bothers you that much, wash'em yourself a couple-ten times before you wear'em!"

Seeing Buffy actually thinking about what she'd said, Faith turned her attention back to getting demon gore and vampire dust out of her hair and off her body. As she rinsed her hair, she realized she still hadn't heard the other girl say anything, so she wiped the water out of her eyes and glanced over at the blonde. Buffy's expression said she was still bothered by the thought of wearing clothes from a thrift store.

Sighing, she reached for a washcloth and soap. "Look, B, I don't get why this is such a big deal. I mean, you've borrowed a couple shirts from me when yours got trashed, right?"

Buffy started at the sound of the brunette's voice and frowned. "Well, yeah, but..."

Faith cut off what she was going to say. "And I know you've borrowed clothes from your mom and Red, right? Hell, that top you wore last tuesday was Queen C's, so why is this freakin' you so bad?"

"I don't know," Buffy admitted with a shrug, finally starting her own cleaning ritual. "It just is. Maybe it's a holdover from my time in LA," she added with a sigh as the hot water slid over her shoulders.

Faith stepped back under the shower spray to rinse again and snorted with rough amusement. "So? You really ain't that stuck up prom queen no more, right? If it'll save you some money, just buy a few things at a time, wash'em a couple times so they smell like your mom's laundry, then pretend you borrowed'em off one of us. Give it a week or two and you won't care anymore and you'll still have lotsa hot outfits to go out dancin' and shit in."

Buffy stopped what she was doing and watched the dark haired Slayer rinse once more before heading back toward the locker room, her eyes following her lithe form for a moment before she jerked her eyes away with a blush. She resumed washing her hair, her hands moving on automatic pilot as she thought over her partner's words.

* * *

Glancing at the jacket, then down at the ruined jeans she was wearing, Buffy grunted lightly, reluctantly admitting Faith had been right. She'd started with just a few things, a pair of jeans, a couple shirts, nothing much. After washing half the color out of them, she'd started wearing her 'new' outfits while slaying and, even though she hadn't wanted to admit it it(Faith's ego was big enough without her making it bigger), Faith had been right. She didn't get anywhere near as mad when her clothes were trashed and, as an added bonus, her mom had commented that she didn't seem to be spending as much on clothing anymore and that whatever Buffy was doing, to keep it up.

After that, Buffy remembered how she'd gone back to the thrift store and picked up several pairs of jeans and a dozen or more shirts. She'd only washed them a couple times that time before wearing them and even that had stopped soon after.

Shaking her head to dislodge this trip down memory lane, Buffy stored the weapons she'd pulled from the ruined jacket in the box she kept on the back porch for them, then let herself in the house. After washing her hands, she fixed herself a modest(for a Slayer) snack, she snagged a couple bottles of water and, she smirked a bit, a low fat yogurt cup, then headed for her room. Once there, she quickly inhaled her food, being careful as always to not let anyone see her really eat.

She'd forgotten once in the Dining Hall just a few weeks ago and had been embarrassed when some other girls started commented on how it appeared she was trying out for the class pig. She'd stopped eating and ran out immediately. Riley had followed her and finally convinced her to ignore the ones who'd harassed her, that they were just jealous that they had to work hard and starve themselves to stay just a little bit pudgy while Buffy herself could actually eat what she wanted and stay so beautiful without any work at all.

The Slayer smiled unconsciously as she remembered the tall boy's flattery. It _had_ made her feel better, but she'd still been careful ever since to just eat a little whenever anyone else was around. Buffy frowned a little as she remembered how she and Faith used to hit the all night greasy spoons after a hard night's slaying. It had taken a while, but the brunette had finally gotten her to loosen up enough to admit how hungry she was most of the time. Again, Buffy smiled without realizing it as she looked back on the eating contests the two Slayers had indulged in, the only real winner being the restaurant when they paid the bill.

Buffy's mind slithered to a halt as she realized her thoughts had been full of times with Faith for the zillionth time that night. _[Stupid hospital,]_ she thought. _[This is all their fault.]_ Stubbornly, she intentionally filled her head with thoughts of classes and lectures and anything she could that didn't contain memories associated with a certain dark haired smart ass. Completing her evening ablutions, the blonde climbed into bed and settled in for some much needed sleep and, with any luck at all, Faith wouldn't intruded on her thoughts again.

_[Argh!]_

Buffy sat up quickly, punched her pillow into submission, then rolled over, fighting to get comfortable enough to sleep. Somewhere in between trying to not think about Faith and trying to will herself to sleep, Buffy finally slipped unconscious.

* * *

Premise: Buffy gets a call telling her that Faith is slipping away. She tells the hospital to call her when she's dead, but otherwise, she doesn't care. That night she has a Slayer dream and the 2 girls talk and thrash it out, but Faith still wants to check out. Buffy rushes to hospital in the middle of the night to stop her, yelling at her to not leave her. Faith finally listens and wakes up. At least, this is where it was going. After nearly a decade of trying to write more on this one, I'm offering it up for adoption.


End file.
